Black Betrayals
by DreamsofPurpleRoses
Summary: "Sirius Black is my godfather." Harry hissed, tears in his eyes. Regulus grinned insanely. "No, Harry. Not anymore. You're mine now. My godson. Sirius doesn't deserve you. I do. You'll make me very happy. I deserve to be happy, don't you think?"
1. Chapter 1

Regulus Black was a bit insane.

You couldn't really blame him, though. Most of the time he took it in stride and it aided him in his attempt to hide from the Wizarding World to which he was dead. You see, Regulus didn't have the best childhood, nor the best life overall to be honest. He was always pressured and pushed by his parents into doing things that he didn't want to do. Like becoming a Death Eater, for instance. Or telling the sorting hat to put him in Slytherin when he really wanted to go into Gryffindor with his brother because he was afraid of what Mother and Father might think. Most of his life he was ordered around, so when he had "Died" he had found freedom, because there was no one to tell him what to do and there was no one to order him around. He could do whatever he wanted.

For the first few months it had been grand. But after that time, he was tired of hiding. He couldn't very well just pop back into the Wizarding world, however. He was wanted by the Dark Lord and the Ministry. So he had to remain in the shadows. This is when the insanity had begun to take hold.

Since he could not live his life among people, he instead watched the lives of others. Particularly his brother, Sirius. Regulus watched as Sirius grieved over his death with that stupid James Potter. He watched as Sirius joined the Order of the Phoenix, again with James Potter. He saw how Sirius loved his little godson and showered the baby with gifts, even if he couldn't afford them. And he knew how the legendary night when Voldemort had attempted to kill little baby Harry Potter had actually played out. Sirius's friend, Peter Pettigrew, had been a traitor and he was the reason that Sirius had been locked up in Azkaban all those years. Regulus knew Sirius hadn't killed all those people. But he was the only one beside Peter Pettigrew himself.

Once, Regulus had actually considered revealing himself to Sirius. He had gone to Azkaban and visited Sirius's cell under a false name with the full intent of letting Sirius know who he was. But when he had looked into the cell and seen the extremely thin and beaten man inside, his heart was crushed. Sirius had not looked like his brother, but like a ghost of his former self. Sirius hadn't noticed Regulus standing there. He was too busy staring at a photo that was frayed at the edges. In the photo was a smiling baby boy with huge green eyes and tufty black hair, sitting on the lap of a younger, not so worn Sirius Black. The baby giggled and shook his little fists when Sirius tickled his tummy. The smile on Sirius's face in the picture was the happiest smile Regulus had ever seen on his brother. Sirius had never taken his eyes from the photo. Tears fell down his face. "Harry…Harry, I'm so sorry…" he had muttered, the sadness etched so deep into him Regulus thought it wasn't possible Sirius would ever smile again.

Regulus had left without saying a word and never returned. He couldn't help blaming Sirius's imprisonment on himself. He should have done something. He should have intervened in some way. How could he have stood there and watched as the Aurors had dragged his brother away? A feeling of guilt filled him and it never went away.

During Sirius's imprisonment, Regulus had watched Harry Potter. He saw how the boy was abused by his aunt and uncle and nearly starved to death. He surveyed Harry with a certain obsessiveness. When the boy went to Hogwarts, Regulus went to libraries and learned everything he could about him, from his defeat of the Dark Lord to his adventures at the magical school. He read newspaper articles compulsively. The boy was absolutely fascinating. The feats he had managed to accomplish by the age of just thirteen were incredible. Everything had been perfect and Regulus was falling deeper and deeper into his insanity by following the boy, the link to his brother, until Sirius broke out of Azkaban. Regulus had tried to find him, he really had. But it wasn't easy. Just like no one could find him when he went missing, there was no locating Sirius Black. When Regulus had read the newspapers that said that Sirius had escaped to kill Harry Potter, he knew this wasn't true. Sirius cared for Harry way too much to want to kill him.

After a series of events that involved time travel and a hippogriff, Sirius was reunited with Harry. But Sirius was still on the run and could not see Harry as much as he would have liked. Regulus watched as he always did, and became extremely jealous of Harry and Sirius's relationship. Why was Sirius's life happy while he was still miserable? It wasn't fair. The insanity that now had a firm grip on his mind came up with a plan. It was a plan that in his right mind Regulus never would have come up with. For in his insane logic Harry was the key to Sirius's happiness, and therefor Harry would make him happy while his brother would be left to hide in the shadows and be depressed for the rest of his life.

The Dark Lord returned in Harry's fourth year, and now the stakes were a lot higher for Regulus. If he went through with his plan not only would both the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic be looking for the boy; so would Voldemort. Regulus knew the second the Dark Lord returned because his dark mark had burned mercilessly, demanding him to go to Voldemort's side. It was very hard to resist, but he had. Returning to Voldemort would mean a long, painful death.

Regulus was getting tired of waiting and watching. He picked a date and set his plan in action. Harry was back at his aunt's and uncle's, deeply shaken by his encounter with the Dark Lord which Regulus had read about in the newspaper where they had called Harry an attention seeking prat. He mostly remained in his house and took long walks. For a few weeks he observed the boy's habits and watched his routine. Then, after learning that the Order of the Phoenix would soon be coming to collect the boy, he made his move. He followed Harry when he went on his nightly walk, keeping to the shadows so he wouldn't spook the boy and lose his chance. Harry took his usual spot on the swing in the park, staring at the ground, deep in thought.

Regulus was patient. He knew the boy was going to be here for about an hour before he made his way back home. He had plenty of time. Using a catlike grace he had learned in do while he had been hiding, he snuck up behind the boy. Harry didn't notice. Regulus grinned. Harry was so very close and all he had to do was reach out and grab the boy and Harry would be _his_ godson forever.

And that is what he did. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Harry, pulling him close and lifting him off the swing. Harry struggled and kicked, trying to get away. Regulus chuckled, the insanity taking over. He whispered in Harry's ear. "Hello, Harry. You're going to be my godson now."

"Wh-what?" Harry stammered, not understanding what was going on. In his fear he lashed out and hit Regulus in the face. Regulus gasped in pain and grabbed his nose, which was probably broken. Harry pulled against Regulus's remaining arm, but the grip around him did not loosen. Regulus growled, his eyes filled with an angry fire. How dare the boy hit him! He would have to be punished. Regulus wrapped his hand around Harry's throat and squeezed. Harry choked and pulled at Regulus's hand, trying to breathe.

"You will not disrespect your godfather like that, Harry. You will be punished if you do." He tightened his hand on Harry's throat to get his point across. Harry turned a dangerous shade of purple.

"Sirius Black is my godfather." Harry hissed, tears in his eyes.

Regulus grinned his insane grin. "No, Harry. Not anymore. You're mine now. My godson. Sirius doesn't deserve you. I do. You'll make me very happy. I deserve to be happy, don't you think?"

"Who…" Regulus could see the boy growing weaker. "Who are…you?"

Regulus raised his fist. "I'll explain later when I have successfully hid you away. Don't worry about it for now." Then he connected his fist to Harry's temple. Harry blacked out immediately and went limp. Regulus removed hand from Harry's throat. It was a rather violent way to take the boy, but at the moment Regulus didn't care. He was too overjoyed that his plan had worked. He couldn't wait to see Sirius's reaction to Harry's disappearance. Regulus smiled and looked at the boy in his arms. Harry was his now. He had never met Harry face to face but knew the boy like the back of his hand. This was going to be wonderful…

Later, back at Regulus's secret hideout, he sat on a plush black couch with a still unconscious Harry on his lap, lying against his chest. He played with the boy's messy hair while he thought. Now that the insanity had left, he felt bad about hurting Harry like he had. There were crescent shaped marks in Harry's neck were Regulus had choked him. But at the same time he couldn't help but be overjoyed. The plan had been successful. Harry was now with him. He would be his godson forever. Regulus smiled. Everything was perfect. He held Harry close to him. The boy filled him with a warmth and happiness he hadn't felt in a very long time. And Harry wasn't even awake yet. Regulus loved the feeling.

In the back of his mind he knew this was wrong. Capturing the teenage godson of your brother and locking him up in the Black family's old house and making your brother miserable so you could be happy was definitely not sane. Not at all. He looked down at Harry and all these thoughts went away. Surely the happiness that Harry would give him would make up for it.

Harry shuffled in his sleep. Regulus braced himself for the bombardment of anger that was sure to come from the boy once he remembered what had happened. But Harry only yawned and placed his head under Regulus chin, oblivious to the world. Regulus buried his face in the boy's soft and sweet smelling hair. At the moment he was perfectly content with staying this way forever, insanity or no.

Regulus didn't know how long he sat there. Maybe minutes, maybe hours, but next thing he knew he was awoken as Harry's head was removed from under his chin. Regulus frowned as the boy sat up and rubbed his eyes. He missed the warmth of Harry. Harry stretched and yawned, opening his eyes blearily. Then he leaned back against Regulus's chest and wrapped his arms around Regulus's stomach, who was a little a taken back. Apparently Harry hadn't noticed him yet. "Sirius, don't tell me I fell asleep when we were playing wizarding chess again. I swore I wouldn't do that anymore. I guess I lost that bet. Ron's right. I suck at chess."

Regulus guess that the blow to Harry's head had made the boy's mind fuzzy at the moment, and he was under the impression that he was with Sirius. Regulus saw the perfect opportunity to scare Harry. He wrapped his arms tightly around the boy's waist, trapping Harry's arms. "Comfortable, Harry?" he whispered in Harry's ear.

Harry froze, his eyes wide. His head lifted slightly and looked straight into Regulus's face. Regulus grinned and placed his chin on Harry's forehead, making it impossible for Harry to move his face down and forcing him to look into Regulus's eyes. Regulus could see the fear in Harry's eyes. He could see memories flooding the boy. Then Harry's eyes became angry. "Let go of me!" He yelled, struggling fiercely. "Let go!"

"No, Harry, I don't think I will. Then you'll get away. We can't have that." Regulus laughed at Harry's pitiful attempts to get free.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded while twisting violently in Regulus's arms. Regulus smiled, tightening his grasp on the angry teen. "Don't you see the family resemblance, Harry?"

The boy paused his fighting for a second and surveyed him with those emerald green eyes. "You look like…" he trailed off.

"Yes, Harry?"

Harry scrunched his face up in thought. "You look like Sirius."

Regulus nodded. "Very good, Harry. Now why would I look like Sirius? I know you're a smart boy. You can figure it out." He saw the realization dawn on Harry's face. "You're his brother." He whispered.

Regulus chuckled and traced his fingers over Harry's face. "You know who you look like? That stupid James Potter. The one who took my brother from me." He gripped Harry's face tightly. "That idiot who helped ruin my life." He squeezed and squeezed till Harry let out a gasp of pain and Regulus remembered that this was Harry, his new godson, and not James Potter. He removed his hand and saw the bruises that he had caused. "I'm sorry, Harry. I do have a bit of a temper. But you won't have to worry about that if you don't fight with me."

Harry was shaking his head. "You can't be his brother. Regulus Black is dead. Sirius told me."

"Not even Sirius knows the truth. Nobody knows that I have been alive all these years." He placed his face back in Harry's hair. "He cares about you, you now. You're everything to him. But I can care for you more. I'll be the best godfather, Harry. I promise. With time you'll realize that. You won't be seeing Sirius anymore."

Regulus heard a noise and looked down at Harry. A single tear run down the boy's face. "But I want Sirius."

Regulus gently wiped the tear away. He didn't want Harry to cry. "Don't cry, Harry. You'll be happy here. I'll give you whatever you want. Money is not a problem. Anything you want…" Harry sniffled and then, with a burst of strength Regulus wasn't prepared for, Harry tore Regulus's arms from him and leapt off the couch. Regulus got to his feet just as quickly and pulled out his wand.

"I want Sirius! You'll never be my godfather! You'll never even be even half the man Sirius is! You're a crazy lunatic who's just jealous of his brother! I will never be happy here!" Harry shouted these words with such fury that Regulus snapped. His hand was already in motion before he even knew what was going on. The smack echoed around the room and Harry was knocked to the floor, tears in his eyes. His lip was split and bleeding. He looked up at Regulus fearfully.

Regulus stood there; breathing hard with his fists clenched tight, staring down at the boy on the floor. The insanity was back. He took a threatening step forward and Harry scooted back. "You will not talk to me like that, Harry. I find no fault in punishing you when you step out of line. You best watch your tongue. Your time here could be enjoyable if you listen to me. If you don't, you will force my hand. I will not be lonely anymore Harry. Never again." He reached down and picked Harry up by his collar. "You are my godson now, whether you like it or not."

"I'll never be your godson." Harry hissed. Another slap. Harry's face was bruising slowly. "Never." He repeated. Again a slap. This one caused the tears in Harry's eyes to fall. "You bastard…"

To Regulus's mind this was too much. He pulled back his fist and let it fly towards Harry's chest. When it found its mark Harry screamed and doubled over in pain. He coughed up blood that stained his pale white face. He shook in Regulus's grip, tears running down his face. The anger washed out of Regulus when he looked at the scared boy in front of him. He felt bad about what he had done. "I'm sorry, Harry. But if you disrespect me you will be punished." He placed Harry's feet back on the floor while still keeping a hold on the boy. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring that was adorned with the Black family crest. He grabbed Harry's hand and slipped the ring on.

Harry screamed as the ring fused with his finger. Regulus released him and he stumbled away, pulling at the ring and trying to get it off. It didn't move. He glared at Regulus. "What the hell was that for?"

Regulus made his way over to the door. "It merely lets me know your location at all times. In case you want to wander. Both the house and the garden are few for you to walk around in. But try to leave the grounds and this luxury will be taken away." He grabbed the handle and pushed it open. "The house elves will help you if I'm not available. I have certain things to plan so I will not be around all the time. But when I am, you are expected to spend that time with me. This is your room. This is where you will sleep unless I decide on some different sleeping arrangements. You are expected to come to breakfast in the morning. If you do not show you will be punished." He stepped through the door and was about to leave.

"Wait!" Harry yelled. Regulus paused. "Where am I?" Regulus could hear the hint of desperation in the boy's voice.

"Where Sirius and I lived before Grimmauld place. Before our father became paranoid. You should be honored, Harry. I gave you Sirius's old room." Harry's eyes lit up. Regulus smirked. "See, Harry? I'm not all bad." Then he shut the door and locked it. He already knew that first Harry was going to search the room to see if he could find anything that belonged to his godfather, and then he would try and escape. Regulus had locked the door because he wanted the boy to stay in the room tonight. He would unlock the door in the morning so Harry could join him for breakfast.

Regulus walked away and towards his rooms. When he entered there was a small house elf bustling about and cleaning up the clothes Regulus had so carelessly thrown on the floor. Regulus went over to his bed and threw himself down, smiling. The House Elf with chocolate brown eyes looked up at him. "Master Regulus seems happy today."

Regulus crossed arms behind his head. "Yes, Mitzi, I am happy today. We have a guest. He's staying in Sirius's old room. Tomorrow for breakfast I want you and the other's to go all out. I want him to be happy."

Mitzi nodded. "Of course, Master Regulus. We will make him as comfortable as possible." She picked up the last of the clothing and placed it in a basket which she held in his arms. "I made your honey tea. Do you want me to bring the boy something?"

Regulus considered it. "Yes. Bring him a nice cup of hot chocolate and an extra blanket. It does get cold in that room." Mitzi nodded that she understood and bade Regulus a good night before she left. Regulus sat up and sipped at his tea, that smile still plastered on his face. He hoped that Harry would warm to him. He wanted to be able to prove he could be a wonderful godfather.

In fact, he bet he could be ten times the godfather Sirius was. All he needed was the chance.

**Please review and tell me what you think. This idea has been in my head for a bit. I absolutely love Regulus even though he was barely mentioned in the books. Hope you enjoy this. It is a multichapter. The more reviews I get the faster I will update. This counts for my other stories as well.**


	2. Chapter 2

When the door closed Harry did the exact thing that Regulus expected him to do. He searched Sirius's room from top to bottom. He searched under the bed and rummaged through the closet. He opened drawers and looked under the mattress. He didn't find much, but what he did find brought a smile to his face. He found notes that had been passed back and forward between Sirius Black and James Potter during class. He found some rings that fit him perfectly. Harry knew that Sirius liked to wear rings.

But his favorite thing was a shirt that had been in one of the drawers. It stated in bold letters: Gryffindor, the reason Slytherins color is green. Harry chuckled and switched this with his own shirt. Harry bet all the money in his vault that Sirius had worn this shirt all the time around the house. It must have made his parents so angry.

Everything else must have been cleared out by either Sirius or Regulus. Except for a little plush toy black dog, which sat on the bed. Harry held this close to him as he lay down on the soft bed and surveyed the room. As he expected, it was covered in anything that went against what the Black family was all about. Where there weren't Gryffindor banners and pictures of the four Marauders' at Hogwarts, the walls contained pictures of muggle women in bikinis and of motorcycles. The whole room made Harry feel like Sirius was right there with him, hugging him like he always did while laughing that bark like laugh.

Then he remembered what Regulus had said. That Harry would never see Sirius again. The very idea made him want to cry. The thought of never being able to sit and talk to Sirius or to play a round of Quidditch, or even to just sit in his godfather's lap while Sirius held him close was unbearable. Harry wondered when Sirius would find out that he was missing. Even when he did, would he be able to find Harry? Nobody would suspect Regulus Black, who was supposed to be dead. Harry was sure that insane lunatic had thought it all through to the last detail.

Harry didn't even try to escape. He had heard Regulus lock the door. While Regulus was obviously insane, he was also smart, and would have blocked any means of escape Harry could have had. So Harry forgot about it and just held the black dog close to him. It was soft and reminded him of Sirius when he turned into his dog form to play catch and chase Harry. The blankets were red and gold and were very cozy. Harry didn't realize he had fallen asleep until someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes and saw a little house elf pushing him gently with one hand, while balancing a tray and blanket in the other. Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes. The little elf grabbed a mug off the tray and handed it to him. Harry took it and looked inside to find hot chocolate. He looked at the elf curiously.

"Master Regulus wanted Mitzi to bring you some hot chocolate and a blanket." Mitzi placed this on the bed beside Harry. She looked up into Harry's face, frowning. After a bit of a struggle, Mitzi pulled herself onto the bed and stood next to Harry. She reached out and took his face gently. For some reason Harry didn't pull it away. Her brown eyes stared at his face. She took a rag from one of her pockets and pressed it against his cheek, where bruises had formed. "Mitzi is sorry. Master Regulus can have a bit of a temper. Master Regulus is very lonely, and sometimes the loneliness is too much. Harry Potter is making him happy again." Mitzi wiped the blood from Harry's chin. "Mitzi likes it when Master Regulus is happy. Life has not been kind to Master Regulus."

Mitzi took the rag away from Harry's face and placed it back in her pocket. Then she jumped off the bed. She noticed Harry holding the plush dog under his arm. She glanced at him then back at the dog. She sighed. "Does Harry Potter miss Master Sirius?"

Harry nodded. He had to admit that this elf was rather odd. She seemed smarter than most others.

Mitzi walked over to the far side of the room and started knocking on the wall till she hit a hollow spot. She eased her long nails into the cracks and part of the wall opened to reveal a secret hole in the wall. There was a box sitting inside it. Mitzi took the box out of the hole, closed the panel, and came over to Harry like it was perfectly normal. Harry took the box from her hands and examined it. It said _To: Harry _on the brown wrapping paper. "What's this?" he asked.

"Master Sirius gave this to Mitzi to hide. Master Sirius said that in case something happened to him while he was in the Order, that Mitzi should give that to Harry Potter the first possible chance. Master Sirius must have forgotten about it, but Mitzi did not. Master Sirius gave this to Mitzi when Harry Potter was a baby, but Mitzi remembers." Mitzi looked away. "Mitzi must go. Do not show Master Regulus. It was Master Sirius's secret. Master Sirius liked to visit here as well even after the Black family moved out." Mitzi took a step back. "Mitzi misses when Master Regulus and Master Sirius loved each other. Mitzi doesn't like secrets." With those last words, Mitzi disappeared.

Harry was rather stunned. It had all happened so quickly. He looked down at the box. Could it really be from Sirius? He decided to find out. He ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside there was a folded letter that was yellow with age and blue rectangular box. Harry grabbed the blue box first and pulled off the lid. He gasped. Inside was a thin gold necklace with a lion pendant. The Gryffindor lion. Harry lifted the necklace over his head and put it on. With Sirius's shirt and this necklace on Harry felt very close to his godfather. It made him smile.

He placed the hot chocolate on the bedside table and opened the letter to read.

_Dear Harry,_

_I don't know if you are old enough to understand this. But if you have this letter than something has happened to me and I won't be at your second birthday party. The Order is dangerous and I'm not cocky enough to believe I'll make it out of this war without a scratch or two. Your parents are putting up wards or something around their house. They think Voldemort will come after them. I hope not. I don't know what I would do if I lost you._

_I'm leaving this with Mitzi. She was always my favorite house elf. I know she will get this to you somehow if something does occur. If nothing does, than you will get this necklace on your second birthday. I've brought it early because I have the money now. The necklace will always remind you where you come from. I know you'll have the heart of a lion when you get older._

_I hope I will always be able to be with you, Harry. But I cannot pretend this world is kind. If we are separated, just know that you are the most important thing in my life and I will always love you. I hope I will be able to see you grow up. Until I am sure, I will stay with you as long as I can. You seem to like that broom I got you. You seem determined to knock me over every time I come to James's and Lily's house!_

_I pray that you never receive this letter. In the chance that you do, just remember that I am sorry I could not be there for you. I love you, Harry. I tell you every day, but you're just a baby. I hope you understand how much one day._

_Love,_

_Sirius_

Harry felt tears in his eyes. It was like Sirius had known what was going to happen. Harry couldn't help the tear drop that fell and stained the yellowing parchment. He missed his godfather more than ever now, especially now that he was trapped here with Sirius having no idea that he was gone. It was then that Harry realized something had fallen out of the letter. It was a picture. In the picture was Sirius, holding little baby Harry by the waist and twirling in a circle. Harry was smiling hugely and shaking his arms, his green eyes filled with excitement. Sirius looked like the happiest person in the world. Harry slipped the picture under his pillow along with the letter, and then laid his head on top of it, his tears soaking the cloth beneath his head. Now more than ever he wished that he had a normal life. He wished Sirius could have seen him grown up. That night Harry cried himself to sleep and dreamed of Sirius coming to save him.

The next morning, the lock to Harry's room clicked and the door swung open to reveal Regulus Black, who was already dressed and looked like he had been up for hours. The boy lying on the bed did not stir as Regulus came closer. Regulus stopped at the edge of the bed and looked down at Harry, watching him. He looked so much like James Potter it was unbelievable. It made it very hard for Regulus to not choke him right there and then. But there were some differences. Harry's face was a bit softer and gentler than that of James Potter. He favored his mother in that aspect. Although Regulus had never thought Lily Evans was all that beautiful. He never understood why James Potter chased after her, or why his brother had encouraged it.

Regulus took his hand and ran it through Harry's soft hair. It was much nicer than the hair James Potter had. Regulus really wanted to show his godson to the world. Perhaps when Harry became a little more compliant he could take him to a Quidditch match, or maybe take him out for ice cream. He wasn't sure. Regulus wasn't used to being a godfather. But doing those things seemed to make sense. He just had to prove to Harry that he could be a good godfather.

Maybe he could gain Harry's trust by protecting him from the Dark Lord who was so intent on killing him. Yes…if Regulus protected Harry, Harry would like him. Because that is what Regulus wanted. For Harry to like him and love him as Harry loved Sirius Black.

Regulus looked to the bedside table and saw a mug full of hot chocolate that sat untouched. Regulus frowned. Why hadn't Harry drunk his hot chocolate? From watching Harry he had gathered that the boy really enjoyed the beverage. Then he saw something poking out from under the pillow that Harry's head lay on. He slowly eased it out, not wanting to wake the boy.

It was a picture. A picture of his brother and Harry as a little baby. Sirius looked so happy as he twirled little Harry in a circle in the air. It made Regulus angry. Why did Sirius get to feel that happiness? Why couldn't Regulus feel the same thing? Why couldn't Harry see him as the perfect godfather he could be?

Regulus was sorely tempted to tear the picture in half, but then he saw the tear stains that ran down Harry's face, dried now, but still there. It pained him to think that Harry had cried himself to sleep. Staying here couldn't be all that bad, could it? Harry had food, books, and a room of his own. He had everything. Sure, Regulus had technically kidnapped him, but this place was much better than the Dursley's, where they barely fed Harry. He had seen that man Vernon beat Harry on more than one occasion. Here, Harry was safe from all that, because Regulus cared for him.

Sighing, Regulus slipped it back under the pillow. He would let Harry keep it. He must have found it in Sirius's room. Sirius too had visited this house after they moved out, when he was trying to think of better times. Ever since he was reunited with Harry however, he had stopped, because better times were now with Harry. He hoped that Sirius would be crushed when he learned of Harry's disappearance. In fact, Regulus wanted to be there to see Sirius's face when he realized it. Maybe he should be the one to deliver the news…now that was something to consider.

Regulus adjusted the covers on Harry, pulling them up to the boy's shoulders, and then grabbed the mug of hot chocolate. He stared at Harry for a few more minutes, before leaving the room, his heart a bit heavier than it had been when he entered.

Harry was awoken at exactly 8:00 by Mitzi, who handed him a pair of clothes and told him to get changed before coming to breakfast. She told him to hurry, because Master Regulus was waiting, and then she left. Harry considered just remaining in Sirius's room and refusing to go to breakfast, but the events of yesterday showed that Regulus wouldn't hesitate to punish him. His jaw still hurt, and his chest ached. Besides, he was hungry. It wasn't like the Dursley's had been feeding him.

He looked down at the clothes. They were a different matter altogether. Harry was perfectly happy wearing what he was wearing. Sirius's shirt was warm and cozy, and the pants he was wearing fit just fine. The robes in his hands seemed stuffy in a way. So instead of putting them on as he had been told, he dropped them on the floor. Regulus was just going to have to live with it.

Harry went over to the door and opened it. In the hall Mitzi was waiting. She looked him over and frowned. "Master Regulus wants Harry Potter to change clothes."

"I like the clothes I'm wearing. Regulus will just have to deal with it."

Mitzi sighed. "Master Regulus will not be happy."

Harry shrugged. "That's too bad." Mitzi looked at him, then to the room, then back. She walked into the room and came back, holding the robes in her hands. Then she started walking down the hall, indicating that Harry should follow. Harry did, and looked around while his feet pulled him forward on auto pilot.

The house they were in was rather large. Mitzi and Harry went down hallway after hallway of portraits and suits of armor. It reminded Harry of Hogwarts. This made sense, since the Black family was extremely wealthy. They could afford to make their house seem like a castle.

The walls were made of stone, as were the floors, but that was covered in expensive looking rugs. The whole place seemed rather cold and empty, like there should be people, but there weren't. Harry could see how somebody could feel very alone here.

Mitzi stopped suddenly in front of a pair of huge oak doors. With much effort she pushed them open, revealing the dining room behind it. This too was like a castle. It had a tall, arched ceiling, and tapestries adorned the walls. In the middle of this massive room was a huge, slightly battered table that could have sat about twenty people. At the end of this sat Regulus. The man stood as Harry entered, smiling. This smile quickly turned into a frown when he took in Harry's appearance. "What are you wearing?" he asked calmly, but Harry could hear the anger in his voice.

"What I want to." Harry retorted, straightening out the shirt he was wearing. "I found it in Sirius's room."

"Yes…" Regulus walked up to him and stopped mere inches from Harry. "I remember that shirt. Sirius used to think it was so _funny…" _Mitzi handed Regulus the robes she had brought. "But I brought these, Harry, just for you. It would make me happy if you would wear them."

"I don't want to wear them." Harry said, pushing away the robes that were being offered to him.

Regulus sighed in annoyance. "Put them on, Harry. _Now_."

Harry shook his head defiantly, ignoring the threatening tone in Regulus's voice. "Very well." Before Harry could move Regulus had pulled out his wand and froze him. Harry tried to move, but couldn't. Regulus forced Harry's arms above his head and lifted off the shirt he was wearing. He looked at it disapprovingly before tossing it to Mitzi, who hurriedly took it out of the room. Harry wanted to protest and take the shirt back, but his lips wouldn't move. Regulus took the robes and gently slipped them on Harry. They were soft and comfortable, but they didn't possess the warmth that Sirius's shirt had.

"You need to learn to listen, Harry. You see, I'm being kind to you. My parents wouldn't have stood for this. They would have placed you under the Cruciatus curse until you listened." Regulus went behind Harry and smoothly lifted him up and off the ground. He carried Harry over to the end of the table and placed him in a seat. The chair moved forward till the arms touched the table, causing Harry to be trapped there. Regulus lifted the spell and causally took his own seat. "I don't want to resort to that. But if you continue to be this stubborn, I will have no other choice. I know you have felt that pain before…I know you don't want it to happen again."

Regulus clapped his hands and house elves poured in the room from a medium sized door behind Regulus. "Let's not talk about that now, Harry. For now, let us enjoy this wonderful breakfast." The house elves placed plate after plate of delicious smelling food on the table. One elf poured Harry a glass of orange juice and put a plate in front of him. Another one handed Regulus a mug of coffee. Then they left, and Regulus and Harry were all alone.

Regulus began scooping things onto his plate, and told Harry to do the same. Harry was hungry, so he followed this order. He piled his plate high with hotcakes, eggs, bacon, and fruit. He ate quickly, hoping that Regulus would leave him alone after breakfast was over. Harry also took this opportunity to finally take a good look at Regulus Black. He looked so much like Sirius it was crazy. The only differences were he looked a bit younger and his hair was darker. He also looked a little less worn than Sirius did. This was probably because Regulus had never been in Azkaban. His face seemed smoother and not rugged.

Regulus was also surveying him. The man hadn't taken his eyes off Harry since they had begun eating. He was surveying him, watching every move Harry made. Harry placed down the fork he was holding and made eye contact with Regulus. Regulus's grey eyes stared right back.

"Why did you kidnap me?" Harry asked.

Regulus raised his eyebrows. "Kidnap is such an ugly term."

Harry glared. "Answer the question." Regulus took a drink from his coffee and waited a while to answer.

When he finally did, Harry was ready to explode with anger. "You see, Harry, when Sirius and I were young we only had each other. My parents were never very fond of Sirius. He spent most of his time with me. Then he went to Hogwarts. I was left all by myself at home with my parents. But I was patient. I was so sure that when I went to Hogwarts that we would be more than brothers, but friends again despite the fact that he had been sorted into Gryffindor and I knew I would be sorted in Slytherin. But when I arrived, Sirius barely gave me the time of day. He was too busy with his new friends. Oh yes, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew meant the world to him. Apparently he had no time for me." Regulus eyes seemed to sadden a little. "We grew apart. When I joined the Death Eaters I was not only rebelling against my parents, but against him as well. My Hogwarts years were horrible, all thanks to my brother." Regulus took another sip of coffee. "So naturally I hate him. The thing you don't realize, Harry, is how much Sirius cares about you. His life became a hundred times better. He barely ever left your side. I had already 'died' by this point. I was so alone. And to see Sirius so happy, when he had made me so miserable, made me angry."

Regulus snapped his fingers and a house elf came over and refilled Harry's glass of orange juice. "You know the rest. Sirius got sent to Azkaban and you to the Dursley's, which was probably the worse option. And Sirius was distraught. He missed you so much. I was content for a while. Sirius was now as sad and lonely as I was. But then he escaped and you two were you happily reunited. Sirius was even happier than before. Now tell me how this is fair. I serve under the Dark Lord for years; getting crucio'd every other day, just to find out a way to finally defeat him. And then I actually try to destroy him, and I'm the one who is left all alone while my idiot brother is the happiest person on this earth? No. I wouldn't stand for it. So I concocted a plan. I needed to take away the thing that was making Sirius happy. I needed to take you." Regulus gestured to Harry.

"You're insane." Harry growled.

Regulus got to his feet, an angry look on his face. "You will not talk to me like that, Harry."

Harry too wanted to stand, but he couldn't. "I will talk to you in whatever way I want!" Harry retorted.

Regulus walked over to him and leaned down so his face was next to Harry's. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, Harry. Truly I am. But it needs to be done. You must learn to speak to me with respect. I am not Sirius, not matter how much I might look like him." Regulus's hand wrapped around Harry's shoulder and pointed a wand at his chest. "Crucio…" he whispered.

The pain was terrible. Harry screamed and shook in the chair. Regulus whispered words of comfort into Harry's ear before increasing the curse. "I know this is causing you pain, Harry. But it's the only way you will learn. You are so stubborn. You need to recognize the fact that Sirius isn't here to save you this time. You will be my godson, and if I have to resort to force, then I will." Tears poured down Harry's face. His vision was going fuzzy. The pain was overwhelming. He hadn't counted on Regulus actually acting on his threats. The curse was increased even more and Harry thought he was going to die. "I'm sorry, Harry. If only you would learn." White hot knifes stabbed him through Harry's chest. A huge fire was burning inside him.

"Please…" he begged, unable to see any longer. "Please stop…"

Regulus kissed the top of his head. "No, Harry. When you disobey me you will be punished. I warned you. The pain will be over soon." Again more pain. Harry couldn't scream anymore. "If I have to break you into the prefect godson I will. Don't underestimate me." The pain attacked him in one more violent wave, and his mind shut down. Harry slumped down in the chair and the darkness overtook his vision, pulling him into oblivion.

Regulus pulled back the chair and Harry slid out of it and onto the floor. Regulus picked him up and held Harry's light body in his arms. "Harry, Harry, Harry…" he tisked. "You will be my godson soon enough."

**Finally I updated this since people were asking me to. Took me awhile, but there it is:) Remember to review and let me know what you think. Private message me for any questions about updating, or if you have any ideas or suggestions for this story. Or leave them in a review:) **


	3. Chapter 3

Sirius Black was sitting in the Leaky Cauldron, sipping a fire whiskey and staring off into space. He was in disguise, of course. He had on a long black cloak with the hood pulled down, hiding his face. Nobody bothered him. While a lot of people didn't believe that the Dark Lord was back, a few did and they were wary of everyone. Sirius was actually glad people were slightly paranoid. It allowed him to go out more. Of course, Dumbledore wasn't aware of this. As far as he knew Sirius was safely tucked away in Grimmauld place where he couldn't do anything stupid or drastic.

Oh how Sirius wished he could do something stupid and drastic. Something that would bring his godson back to him. But he had absolutely no idea what to do. Under normal circumstances he would have killed every Death Eater in sight until he found out where Harry was. Unfortunately, these weren't normal circumstances. Snape had sworn while under the influence of truth potion that the Dark Lord had nothing to do with the disappearance of Harry Potter, and was in fact greatly angered by it. Voldemort had no idea where Harry was either. They had no leads, no suspects, no nothing. After Voldemort had been proved innocent (as odd as that sounded), they had no one else who could possibly want to kidnap Harry. Snape had suggested that Harry had run away, but Sirius knew this wasn't true. If he had run away he would have come to Sirius. That was for sure.

Harry knows that Sirius would never question his motives for running away. Sirius would just take Harry in and care for him. Harry was under a lot of stress, and it surprised Sirius that Harry hadn't runaway already. If it was Sirius in that position, he would already be gone, telling the Wizarding World to go screw themselves and find another hero to throw all their problems on.

But Harry had always been better than that. He was braver than Sirius. He cared for people too much to just run away. He was braver than people three times his age. He was so selfless. As long as everyone else was safe, then Harry was fine, regardless of what was happening to him. This fact only made Sirius love Harry even more. He was an incredible godson. Sirius just wished he could always be there for Harry, every second of every day to make sure he was safe and happy. Sirius didn't care about the war or the Order of the Phoenix or anything like that. He only cared about Harry's safety. Harry was everything to him. He was the only thing that had helped him survive in Azkaban. Otherwise he would have gone insane like everyone else in that blasted place.

The thought that Harry was with some lunatic, probably hurt, made Sirius furious. Why would anyone want to hurt Harry? He had done nothing but care for others. Yet everyone seemed intent on causing him pain. Sirius had the vision of Harry screaming in pain under the Cruciatus curse, begging for mercy. It brought tears to his eyes. He swore he would kill anyone who laid a finger on Harry. He would make them wish they had thought twice about hurting his godson.

Sirius was deep in these thoughts when someone sat across from him. It was also a man with a dark cloak on, hiding his face. Sirius's hand tightened around his wand, ready if this man was a Death Eater. He was shocked when the man, instead of attacking him, simply slid him an open bottle of Fire whiskey. Sirius caught it in his hand and took a sip, surveying the man carefully. He didn't taste any poison in the drink. Maybe this man wasn't a Death Eater.

"Who are you?" he asked, pulling his hood down a bit farther lest the man recognize him.

The man's smirk was visible under his hood. "Please, Sirius. Can we not just have a drink?"

Sirius froze. This man knew his name. Was he going to turn him in? "How do you know who I am?"

The man frowned. "Sirius, do you not recognize my voice? It has been awhile since we last spoke, hasn't it? But still. I think after years of hearing me talk that you would remember my voice."

"You best start making sense before I hex your brains out." Sirius growled, placing his wand that was still in his hand on the table. He had to admit, though, that the man's voice did sound oddly familiar.

The man laughed and shook his head. "You wouldn't do that, Sirius. You can't risk drawing attention to yourself." He took a sip from his Fire whiskey. "After all, if you are caught and taken back to Azkaban whose going to rescue poor little Harry?"

Sirius narrowed his eyes. Sparks flew dangerously from the end of his wand. "What do you know about the disappearance of my godson?" he whispered dangerously.

Another laugh. "Your godson, Sirius? I don't think so."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sirius fought to keep his anger in check. If he lost it there was a very good chance that he would accidently reveal himself and cause mass hysteria, which would probably get him in big trouble with Dumbledore. He doubted he would be captured. Nobody in this pub looked like the kind to turn in a mass murderer. They looked more like the kind to freak out and run away. This was what Sirius was counting on if this man had anything to do with Harry going missing. "Where's Harry?"

The man put down his drink and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a picture and handed it to Sirius. "He is oh so stubborn, Sirius. Not unlike yourself." The sleeve of his robe lifted slightly to reveal the Dark Mark on his arm.

Sirius's brain kicked into overdrive. So this man was a Death Eater. Had he perhaps kidnapped Harry to bribe the Dark Lord with? It was possible. But still, Sirius couldn't jump to conclusions. Instead he looked down at the picture he had been given. His heart snapped right in two. In the photo was Harry. His arms were tied to a chair and he was unconscious. His face was littered with bruises and he was as pale as snow. Harry looked like he was…dead. Angry tears appeared in Sirius's eyes as he glared at the man across from him. "What did you do to him?" he hissed.

The man plucked the picture from Sirius's fingers and stared at it, grinning. "He isn't dead, Sirius, if that's what you're thinking. I would never kill Harry. He is just so incredibly stubborn. He didn't listen to me. So I had to punish him so he would understand the position he was in. I only did what Mother and Father did to us. He wasn't under the Cruciatus Curse for too long."

Sirius slammed his fist down on the table, shaking slightly. "You put him under the Cruciatus Curse?" he said, totally disregarding everything else the man had said.

"It was for the best. He needs to learn to respect me. Pain is the best teacher. It may take a few more tries, but I believe he will learn his place eventually. He will be my godson soon enough."

"Harry is _my _godson." Sirius pointed a finger at the man across from him, who was obviously crazy. "Now tell me who you are before I get sent back to Azkaban for an actual murder."

The man sighed. "You never were very patient, where you, Sirius? Very well. I'll let you spoil all the fun." He grabbed his hood and very carefully pulled it down.

Sirius was in complete shock. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things, because there was no way that his brother, Regulus Black, could be sitting before him. But there was no mistaking that face, so like his own. It was Regulus, his little brother. Was it a ghost? Was he hallucinating from lack of sleep? Because there was no possible way that his _dead_ younger brother was sitting with him in the Leaky Cauldron. "Reg?" he asked hesitantly.

"Glad you recognize me, Sirius. I was afraid it might have been too long."

Sirius opened his mouth and then closed it. He didn't know what to say. This couldn't be real. It just couldn't. This had to be an imposter. "Prove it. What did I ask you to do for me when I was sixteen that you didn't have the guts to do?"

Regulus sighed. "You wanted me to run away with you and go live at James Potter's house. You said to forget about Mother and Father, because if I ran away I wouldn't have to worry about them any longer. I was too afraid to disobey them, so I stayed. When I told you I was going to be a Death Eater to make them happy, you actually beat me up and told me not to be an idiot."

The two brothers locked gazes, grey eyes boring into each other. And for some strange reason, Sirius knew this was his brother. He grabbed Regulus's arm to make sure it was real. He had missed his brother so much since he had run away. But there was still one problem. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Yes, yes I am. But you see, Sirius, that was all a stunt to make sure the Dark Lord didn't try and hunt me down for betraying him. I was trying to destroy him. I'm not as serious about it now. Perhaps when Harry is a little more compliant he can join me in my attempts to rid the world of the Dark Lord." He seemed thoughtful for a second. "You and Harry are the only ones who know that I was never really died."

"But why, Reg? I thought you were actually dead. I never got over your death. I always thought it was my fault that you joined the Death Eaters." Sirius was hurt. Why hadn't Regulus trusted him? Sirius could have helped him.

Regulus's eyes grew cold. "But don't you see, Sirius. It was your fault. It was all your fault. You are the reason I joined the Death Eaters. You are the reason my life has been horrible. It's all because of you!" He ripped his arm away from Sirius.

"What did I do?" Sirius asked.

"What did you do?" Regulus hissed. "You abandoned me. You left me all on my own. You ditched me for that idiot James Potter and your other friends. We used to always hang out together, but then you went to Hogwarts and forgot all about me. I was the perfect Slytherin son and you the rebellious Gryffindor. Mother and Father hated you. And I had to put up with all their talk about how you were such a horrible son. You thought I actually agreed with them. You didn't give me the time of day, even when you were at home over the holidays. You spent all your time messaging James Potter. Stupid, useless, good for nothing James Potter instead of talking to your brother! I only wanted your attention." Regulus was red in the face by this point. "I joined the Death Eaters, not only to make Mother and Father happy but to also get your attention. That was the only time you said two words to me, and you only spoke to me to yell at me when I showed you my Dark Mark."

Sirius was speechless. What was he supposed to say to that? He hadn't thought he had been blowing Regulus off but now that he looked back he realized it was true. Whenever Regulus had come into his room to tell him about his time at school, or show him a new spell he had learned, he had shooed him away because he was writing a letter to James. Occasionally he would play with his brother and teach him a few spells, but mostly he was eager to get back to Hogwarts so he could see James, Remus, and Peter again. Although he was ashamed to admit it, he had totally ignored his brother in favor of his friends. And he also had been rather harsh on Regulus after he had discovered the Dark Mark on his brother's arm. He had gone crazy and told him he was no better than Mother and Father. He had told Regulus that he was no longer his brother. He hadn't even tried to talk to Regulus, to figure out what was wrong. He never knew it would cost him this much. He wanted to get to know Regulus again and make up for what he had done. He wanted his brother back.

"Reg, I'm sorry for what I did to you. I never wanted you to go and fake your death. I…" He was cut off by Regulus, who had a crazy look in his eyes. "I don't want to hear your excuses, Sirius. I know what you did. You made my life miserable. And so when I 'died', I made it my goal to make sure you were as miserable as I was." Regulus grabbed his drink and took a long swig from it before continuing. "I thought the war would do it. But no. Because that was when little Harry was born. And he made you oh so happy, didn't he, Sirius? He made you the happiest person in the world. You cared about him more than you cared about anything else. You played with him and brought him things. You told him stories and hugged him. Harry healed you. He healed the pain that my death had caused."

Sirius wondered how Regulus knew all these things. If he had been hiding he couldn't have very well asked James or anybody. Had he been watching? "How did you know that?"

Regulus continued like Sirius's hadn't spoken. "Then there was that horrible Halloween night. The night that ripped Harry from you. The night that caused you to be locked up in Azkaban. You were so heartbroken. And in Azkaban Harry was all you could think about. I was happy for a while. You were feeling the pain I had felt when you left me." A frown overtook Regulus's face. "But you couldn't stay there, could you? No, you had to escape. And when you broke out you were reunited with Harry. You were happy again and I was angry. You don't deserve to be happy, Sirius. I do. And so I took the one thing that made you happy. The one thing that you care about more than anything else in the world. I took Harry."

It hit Sirius hard. His brother had been the one to take Harry. But that didn't make any sense. What could Regulus possibly want with Harry? Regulus didn't know him at all. "Why?" he questioned. He had gathered by now that his brother wasn't completely sane. He was angry and confused. Maybe Sirius could convince him to give him back.

"Because Harry brought you happiness. I want that happiness. As my godson, he can give me that."

"But Harry isn't your godson. He's mine. And you better give him back to me. Because if you don't, I will injure you so bad you will be locked up in St. Mungos for months, regardless of the fact that you are my brother." Sirius threatened.

Regulus chuckled, and at that chuckle, Sirius realized that this was no longer the Regulus he knew. Time and pain had worn down his mind, making him slowly lose it.

"He misses you now. He cried himself to sleep because he knew I wouldn't let him see you. But he will forget about you soon enough. I will be his godfather. I was thinking that perhaps I should turn him back into a little child. That way I would get the full experience of raising him and could mold him into my heir. The idea has been in my head for a while. It is oh so very tempting."

"If you harm Harry in any way…" Sirius growled, knuckles so tight around his wand that they were white.

Regulus tilted his head to the side, grinning. "You'll what, Sirius? Kill me? Kill your own brother who you only just learned was alive after all these years? I don't think so. You can't take that risk. You want to go and save Harry. You want to hold your godson in your arms and tell him everything is alright. You need him, Sirius. You can't live without him. And that is why I've taken him."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I wanted to see your face when you realized you will never see your godson ever again." Regulus smirked.

Sirius was so close to his breaking point he was about to explode. He didn't care that this was his brother who he hadn't seen since they were young. What he cared about was that Regulus was threatening Harry. Nobody threatened his godson. But Sirius didn't want to lose it. He had to try and reason with Regulus first. "Regulus, you can't do this. We're brothers. We should take this time to forgive each other and try to get along again."

"But you said it yourself, Sirius. We're no longer brothers. You said you could never be brothers with a low life scumbag who bears the Dark Mark." Regulus lifted up his left sleeve to show his mark. "The loyalty is no longer there, but the mark is."

"Regulus, you know how I was when I was younger. I can forgive you now. Please, Regulus. Just give Harry back to me. I need to know that he is safe. I can't live with myself otherwise."

Regulus got to his feet and placed his hands on the table, glaring down at Sirius. "I am tired of your lies!" he yelled, no longer caring who heard. "Harry is my godson now, whether he likes it or not. He will never see you again, ever! I don't care how many times he cries himself to sleep, or how many times he calls me crazy. I will punish him until he listens, just like Mother and Father did to us. And he will make me happy while you and your stupid Order worry yourselves away trying to find him. Because you won't!"

Sirius snapped. He got to his feet and launched himself over the table. He tackled Regulus to the floor and started punching him anywhere he could reach, just like he had done when they were kids and Regulus had pissed him off. Only this time it was more serious. "Tell me where Harry is!" he shouted in his brother's face while driving his fist into Regulus's stomach.

Regulus only laughed and slammed his fist right into Sirius's face, breaking his nose. "I'll never tell you! It's time for you to pay for what you did to me, Sirius!"

Sirius rolled off of Regulus, gripping his nose between his fingers to try and stanch the bleeding. Using his free hand he landed a punch to Regulus's chest that sent him flying into a nearby table. Regulus slid across the surface and landed with a thump on the other side. Pissed and sporting a slowly swelling eye, Regulus staggered to his feet and grabbed a chair. Using all of his strength, he chucked it at Sirius, who had to fall to the floor to avoid being hit.

Regulus proceeded to throw things at him, like half-filled glasses and plates of food. Sirius charged at him and shouldered him hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs and send him to the floor. Sirius got back on top of him a continued punching him, screaming at him to give Harry back. A few other people in the pub were cheering the fight on, but Tom had had enough. With the help of two other men, he managed to extract Sirius from Regulus and hold him back. Before they could grab Regulus, he took off into Muggle London. Sirius saw his chance of rescuing his godson getting away. He struggled with all his might, cussing and kicking. In his struggling, his hood fell off.

There was a loud gasp followed by a terrified scream. "It's Sirius Black!" yelled a witch who was holding a plate in front of her as if it would protect her. "He's come to kill us all!"

In the moment of panic that followed, Sirius managed to break free and run out into the street. He looked around, hoping to find Regulus's face among the crowd. But it was just Muggle's. Sirius ran, checking down every street in desperation. He still did not find who he was looking for. Regulus Black was gone.

Sirius sunk to his knees, anguish filling his heart. A lunatic had ahold of his godson. A worst of all, that lunatic was his brother.

…

Regulus opened the door to his library slowly and stepped inside, pleased to see that Harry was still unconscious. He went in front of the boy and took his face in his hands gently and inspected it. Sirius really did care for the boy. More than he had anticipated. But no matter. Sirius wouldn't be able to rescue Harry. Regulus would make sure of that. He had worked too long and too hard to let Harry be taken away from him. He would enjoy watching Sirius suffer. Regulus could be very charming when he wanted to be. With the right words he would be able to convince Harry that this was his home. That this was where he belonged.

Regulus released Harry's face and turned away, back towards the door. He left Harry with some parting words. "Sleep well, Harry. We have a lot of work to do."

**There you go, my wonderful readers! Just as a lot of you requested. Sirius's point of view on Harry going missing. I threw in the part about Regulus telling him as a special treat. I would like to know what you think. Please review and tell me all your concerns, comments, and questions. I try to reply to every review, although if it is something like, "great chapter.", then I will not justify that with a response. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to vote in my poll.**

**I promise next chapter will have more Regulus and Harry in it, but I just had to write this. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry that it's kinda short, but I've been really busy lately. Anyway, hope you like it.**

**This chapter is dedicated to one of my readers named animefan1991. Happy birthday! At least, I hope it is. I think I got the date right. Whatever, happy birthday anyway!**

Harry groaned as he woke up. Everything hurt. His head was throbbing painfully and his wrists were burning. His back was stiff and tense. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked the sleep away to see he was in a library. A library? Why would he be one of those? He glanced around. It was one of those personal libraries with books that reached towards the ceiling. It even had one of those ladders with the wheels that could go around the room and help reach higher shelves.

For a moment Harry forgot everything. But then it all came crashing down on him. He was in Regulus Black's house. Regulus Black was insane. He wanted Harry to be his godson. He punished Harry when he refused. The aches of the Cruciatus curse washed over his body, making tears spring to his eyes. Regulus had actually tortured him. Because that's what it was. Torture. No matter how many times Regulus had said the pain was for his own good, it had still been torture. Harry had begged him to stop, but Regulus had only increased the pain.

And if he hadn't before, Harry definitely feared Regulus now. Because Regulus had shown he would resort to punishing Harry when he saw fit, and that scared Harry. Regulus wasn't just talk anymore. He had proven he would resort to drastic measures to make Harry his godson. Harry shivered. Would Regulus torture him again? Because there was no way Harry was going to give in. Sirius was his godfather, and he always would be. Harry was not going to wear clothes that Regulus gave him, and he certainly wasn't going to ever think of Regulus as anything other than a madman.

Harry shuffled in the chair he was in and glanced down at his wrists. They had angry, chaffed red lines on them and he assumed he had been tied up at some point, but no longer was. He bent one wrist and hissed at the pain it caused. Merlin, did he want to kill Regulus.

Hesitantly he stood up, his legs slightly shaky from sitting down so long. He was worried that Regulus would pop up out of nowhere and attack him again. He knew he was being slightly paranoid, but thought he had every right to be. He was trapped in a house with someone who was obviously insane. And he just wanted his godfather. He just wanted Sirius. Except Regulus had made it perfectly clear that Harry would never see Sirius again. Harry refused to believe it. He would see Sirius again. He just had to.

With nothing better to do, Harry limped over to one bookcase and gently took one book down. It was about Dark Arts. He sneered. Of course. Putting it down, Harry picked up another. Again, it was about the Dark Arts. Harry rolled his eyes. For someone who didn't want to be a Death Eater, he certainly had a lot of books about dark magic.

At random, Harry grabbed a really huge book from the shelf and stumbled over to a nearby desk. It landed with a loud thud, shaking the table. Harry flinched, expecting Regulus to come and inspect the noise. He breathed a sigh of relief when the door didn't swing open. Hopefully Regulus was in a different part of the house. He looked down at the book. It was well worn, like it had been read many times. The title was _The Pure Poison of Potions. _An uncomfortable chill ran down Harry's spine. Why would Regulus have a book like this in his house?

He opened it to a random page and was surprised when he wasn't attacked by a violent cloud of dust. Did that mean that Regulus had looked at this book recently? Inspecting it, he saw that a few pages were dog eared. With a glance around to make sure that Regulus definitely wasn't there, Harry flipped to one of these pages. It was the recipe for a bonding potion. Harry, trying to still the fear in his stomach, read down the page. This potion could be used if you wanted someone to not be able to leave you. If they tried, they would feel immense pain and the need to go back. It was mostly used when on member of a couple never wanted them to break up. Harry's breath caught in his throat. What if Regulus was planning on using this to keep Harry with him and make it impossible for Harry to run away?

A little more worried than he had been before, Harry flipped to the next dog eared page. On this page were the directions for an age reducing potion. It seemed very complicated. Next to the words that said, 'Select age', Regulus had written numbers. In his neat scrawl were the numbers 5, 6, 7, 8? It didn't immediately click in his mind what these numbers might mean. But then he put two and two together. A bonding potion and an age reducing potion. Surely Regulus wasn't thinking…but maybe he was. He was desperate for Harry to be his godson. And maybe he wanted to raise Harry because he hadn't been able to, nor had Sirius.

Harry shut the book quickly, fear over taking him. With shaking arms he placed the book back on the shelf. What was Regulus's plan? Did he really think he can get away with it? People will notice that Harry is gone. They'll come looking. Regulus couldn't hide him away forever, couldn't force him to stay if someone came and rescued him. Unless…unless he brewed that potion.

Harry shook his head firmly. Even Regulus couldn't be that crazy.

Trying to convince himself that he would be fine, Harry reached up and took down an interesting, thin black book. On the cover was the Black family crest. Opening it, he found that it was a scrapbook, totally dedicated to pictures of Regulus and Sirius. If Harry had thought they looked alike now, it was nothing compared to how they looked when they were little. They were practically twins except for the slight difference in hair color and the fact that Sirius was taller than Regulus in the pictures. Harry noticed that they looked so happy in these pictures. There was one of a little Regulus, perhaps four years old, clutching tight to Sirius's back as they flew through the air on a broom.

In another, Sirius and Regulus were in a room, sitting on a bed with a birthday cake in between them. Sirius looked like he was singing and then Regulus leaned forward and blew out the candles.

In all of the pictures Sirius looked very, very happy. It was the kind of happiness that he only had around Harry. But Harry noticed that the pictures stopped when Sirius was about ten years old. They must have ceased after Sirius went to Hogwarts.

Harry only had what Regulus had told him to go on, but still they had seemed so close. They should have been able to work through it. They probably would have if Regulus hadn't become a Death Eater. That had been the breaking point. Harry felt bad for Sirius. It must have been terrible to lose his brother. If Harry had a brother, he would never want to drift apart.

The worst part had to be that Regulus was really alive, but even so he and Sirius could never make amends, because Regulus was insane. He was the type of insane that never forgives, never forgets. Although, even though it hurt Harry to think this, it was kind of Sirius's fault. Sirius had abandoned his brother in favor of friends, which was not cool. Sirius should have found time for both. He should have stood by his brother. If he had, none of this would have happened. Regulus wouldn't have had to fake his own death.

Harry sighed and shut the book. It wasn't his place to pry. This was between Regulus and Sirius. Once Sirius found out that Regulus was alive, then it would be up to the two of them to deal with it. All that Harry cared about was getting back to Sirius. After that, he didn't want to deal with Regulus ever again.

When he turned to put the book back, he nearly fell over in shock. The shelf had disappeared and behind it was a small room covered floor to ceiling in pictures. Most of the pictures were of him.

Hesitantly, he stepped forward into the room, worried that some sort of alarm would go off. But nothing happened. Harry glanced around and felt his stomach drop. There were so many pictures. There was Harry at every stage of his life so far. There was the Dursleys', the house on Privet Drive, even Dudley and his friends. Pictures of Harry in his room, at the park, in the backyard. Even baby pictures. Harry looked closer at these. His parents were in some of them, but his dad was crossed out in some.

The pictures that weren't of him were of Sirius. On one wall was his wanted poster from Azkaban. Most of the others were newspaper clippings, and blurry shots of a black dog.

There was a desk against the wall opposite Harry. Spread out on it were papers and copies of the daily prophet. Regulus had written notes, things like what Harry's favorite food was and who he hung out with. Harry's heart nearly stopped. This was all so wrong and creepy. Regulus had been watching him his whole life. Had been spying on him when Harry had thought he'd been alone.

There was a whole section dedicated to pictures of Harry crying. Regulus had put little pieces of paper beside them describing why he was crying at that particular moment. Most of them were because of Dudley's bullying.

There was one photo that broke Harry's heart. It was of Sirius, sitting in a cell in Azkaban, bone thin and dirty. He looked worse than Harry had ever seen him. And he was crying. Silent tears flowed down his face. Harry had no idea how Regulus could have taken a picture like that. Did they even allow cameras in Azkaban? But what also hurt Harry was that Regulus had been there when he had taken this picture. He was there and he saw his brother in that horrible state. Yet he did nothing. How could he have just stood there and not done something, anything, to free his brother? Did Regulus really hate Sirius that much as to let him rot in Azkaban for twelve years?

Harry took a seat in the chair in front of the desk so he could inspect the notes carefully. He pulled one roll of parchment towards him, which didn't look all that old, and read:

_**Still misses Sirius. He cried himself to sleep. It makes me feel horrible, but there is nothing I can do. I want him to be happy here with me, not with Sirius. What will it take to convince him? I only want what's best for him. I'm afraid I might have to resort to drastic measures. I will not be alone any more. And I will not put up with his disobedience. One more wrong move and I will make those potions I've been researching. Then he'll be forced to stay with me. Then he'll be forced to be my godson. He'll realize with time that it's for the best. I'll raise him properly, and he can be my heir. Him being a half-blood may interfere with that, but it can't be helped. I never want him to leave. I've been so happy lately. Even when he's yelling at me and calling me insane I'm still just so glad I managed to get him here. I can change his mind, I know I can.**_

_**Am I insane? Harry keeps telling me I am. I never really thought about it. But I can't be. I'm way too smart. And besides, I have my reasons for being angry. It's not because of insanity. It's because of Sirius. The only problem with Harry is that he reminds me so much of that stupid James Potter. Every time I see him I want to hug him and kill him at the same time. And his attitude is just like Sirius's. But I'm sure I can change that as well. With a little convincing I'm sure Harry will see that he belongs here, with me. In time he'll be the perfect godson, and I'll be happy forever.**_

Harry shook his head. He did feel a bit bad for Regulus. He just wanted company. He must have been terribly lonely these past few years. Perhaps Harry could be a bit nicer to him? He didn't have to like that man, but just tolerate him until he was rescued. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

Sighing, Harry put down that bit of parchment and grabbed another. This one looked even more recent, like it could have been written only hours ago. Curious when he scanned it and saw Sirius's name several times, he read it.

_**The look on Sirius's face when I revealed to him that I was alive all these years was priceless. And of course he tried to convince me that we could still be brothers, that it would all work out. But he is wrong. We can never be brothers again, ever. I can never forgive him for what he did.**_

_**He got so angry when I told him that I had Harry. It was just the reaction I wanted. And when I showed him that picture I knew his heart broke. He tried to get me to give Harry back. Ha! Like I would ever do that. It was fun to see him beg for his godson back. He cares for Harry so much. Too much for his own good. And I'm going to break his heart even further. When Harry is totally obedient to me I will let Sirius see him. I want to see the heart break in his eyes. It will be payback for punching me.**_

_**Sirius was lying. He hasn't changed at all. He's still that annoying, stubborn, impatient boy he always was. I hope he got caught by those people in the bar. Serves him right for trying to fight me. As if I would really just give Harry back to him because he gave me a black eye.**_

_**No. Harry will stay with me. And just because of what Sirius did, I'm going to have to speed up that process of making him the perfect godson. I know Sirius will be looking for him. He'll pull out all the stops and will eventually find his way here, to this house. But when he does it will be far too late.**_

Harry dropped the paper, his hands shaking slightly. Regulus had talked to Sirius? Did Sirius now that he was okay? Did Sirius know that Harry would never, ever look at Regulus as a godfather? What had they said to each other? Was Sirius looking for him right now? Was he close?

Harry was scared. What had Regulus meant by 'it will be far too late'? What was he planning to do?

He had to leave. He had to find a way to escape. He couldn't let Regulus go through with whatever he was planning. If he escaped, it would be easier for Sirius to find him. Yes, that was his plan. He just had to find where Regulus kept his wand and then he would be fine. Then he would be able to get out of this hellhole.

Harry stood up quickly, wincing at the sound of the chair scraping against the wooden floor. Where would Regulus keep something like his wand? Maybe in his room? Harry wasn't too keen on the idea of sneaking into Regulus's room, but if it had to be done, then he would do it. He just had to get out of here. There was no other choice.

He was getting ready to turn around when he felt a cold hand wrap around his neck, cutting off his air supply. "Going somewhere?" Regulus hissed into his ear.

Harry struggled to loosen the fingers around his neck so he could breathe. Regulus only squeezed tighter. "It's not good to pry, Harry. Have you been reading what I wrote, hmmm?"

"Y-you spoke to…Sirius." Harry choked. His face was red.

"Yes, I did, Harry. And he misses you so much. He's going to come looking, but he won't find you." Regulus chuckle and released his grip on Harry's neck. He placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and forced him back into the chair. He went around and stood in front of Harry, placing his hands on the armrests and leaning forward until his face was inches from Harry's. Harry looked up into Regulus's crazed eyes and shook. Regulus raised his hand and Harry let out an involuntary whimper.

Instead of hitting Harry, Regulus reached behind him and plucked a picture off the wall. He held it in front of Harry. "Recognize this?"

It was Harry's second grade class picture. Harry, being the shortest kid in class, was at the very front. He looked miserable. Harry remembered that day. Dudley had punched Harry in the face because he thought Harry had stolen his juice. Harry's clothes were dirty, his knees were scraped up, and one of his eyes was swollen. Needless to say it wasn't a very good picture.

He nodded slowly in response to Regulus's question. "How did you get that?"

"I was the photographer." Regulus grinned. "The original one had a little accident and I filled in. I wanted to see you." He put the picture away and faced Harry again. "I've been watching you for your whole life, Harry. Watching, waiting for the perfect opportunity to take you. I was your substitute once, and other things beside that. But the time was never right. Not until now."

Harry said nothing. He was too scared to speak. Even though Regulus's voice was calm, his eyes were still angry. "I worked so hard, Harry. I know everything about you. I learned in preparation for the time that you would be my godson." He trapped Harry's wrist with his hands, squeezing them painfully. "And you, Harry, are ruining everything. You are so stubborn, so unwilling to except the fact that you are going to stay with me. You will not be going back to Sirius."

Harry found some of his courage and used it to glare at Regulus. "Sirius will find me." He said with absolute certainty. "Now that he knows you took me he won't stop until I'm back with him. And you know that. You're scared. Because when Sirius comes you won't be able to stop him from rescuing me. And you'll be thrown in Azkaban where you belong!"

Regulus's hand shot forward and gripped the collar of Harry's robes. He pulled Harry to his feet and held him up off the ground. "You insolent little boy! What will it take for you to realize your position?" He paused. Then a horrible grin spread across his face. "I know, Harry. I know what punishment is enough." Laughing, he dragged Harry out of the room, not caring that Harry hit his head painfully on the floor. "I'm sorry, Harry. But when Sirius comes I will make sure you are loyal to me."

"I'll never be loyal to you!" Harry yelled.

"Tell me, Harry," said Regulus, talking as if he hadn't heard Harry. "Which age did you like better? Five, Six, Seven?"

Harry's eyes went wide. "You wouldn't." he muttered. "You can't."

"I can. And I will. I've had enough. Sirius obviously didn't teach you manners, and you will have to pay the consequences." They were now out in the hall.

"Where are you taking me?" Harry whimpered, unable to keep the fear out of his voice any longer.

"Just to a place where you won't be lonely."

"What do you mean?" Just as he asked this, they stopped outside of a door. Regulus opened it and pushed Harry inside. Harry quickly scrambled to his feet and he looked around. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat. "No," Harry shook his head and backed up. "No, please."

"You're going to stay here, Harry, as your punishment. I should be done in a few hours." Regulus smirked. "You can join me for dinner afterwards." He paused. "You just need to learn, Harry. Fear is the best teacher." Regulus looked at the other figure in the room that was slowly coming towards Harry. "I should have expected it would turn into him. Have fun, Harry. I have a few potions to make."

With that, Regulus shut the door and locked it, trapping Harry in the room with his worst nightmare…

**Like it? What do you think?**

**Also, I have another account of this sight called MidnightAlabasterRose. I have recently written a Glee fanfiction on it, for anyone who's interested. That's also one of the reasons I've been slow on the updating.**


	5. Chapter 5

Sirius stormed down Knockturn Alley, pulling his hood firmly over his face to cover it. He knew the person he was looking for was here. When he found Mudungus Fletcher that stupid, lazy man was going to pay. Sirius needed a place to vent his anger and Mudungus was going to get the full force of his fury. It was his fault anyway. He was on watch the day Harry was taken. That stupid, stupid man must have let Regulus slip by and take Harry. Yes, it was his entire fault. Sirius was pissed and he wanted some answers.

Mudungus, contrary to what he believed, wasn't that hard to find. Sirius could hear him hawking off stolen goods long before he saw the bald man. Mudungus was waving a black vase around in the air, calling off random prices. Nobody was paying him much attention, not even when the man claimed it could ward off Dementors.

Sirius pushed past a woman who had a pot full of blinking eyeballs until he was finally in front of the thief. He was glad that Mudungus didn't seem to notice him too much as he finally seemed to have a costumer who was interested in his Dementor repelling vase.

The polite thing to do would be to wait till Mudungus was done with his transaction, but Sirius was never the one to be polite. Or patient for that matter. So instead he grabbed the vase from Mudungus' hands, shoved it into the costumer's arms, and wrapped his hand in Mudungus' cloak. Before the bald man could utter a word Sirius yanked him away. He practically dragged him down the alley, ignoring the man's spluttering protests. He could care less if Mudungus was comfortable or not.

When he reached an area where an even smaller alley split off from the main one, he pushed Mudungus into it and slammed him against that wall. Mudungus looked freaked. He began to sweat and ramble. "If you're the bloke I sold tha' instant Animagus locket to, I told youse that it would 'ave side effects. Not my fault if you don't listen to me."

Sirius ripped off his hood and if possible Mudungus looked even more scared. "B-black?"

Sirius lifted his fist and Mudungus violently flinched. "Listen to me, Fletcher. I'm three seconds away from breaking your face into tiny, tiny pieces unless you tell me what I want to know, understand?"

The thief nodded hurriedly. "You were on watch when Harry was taken. What happened? What did you see? Were you overpowered? Tell me!"

Mudungus looked confused. "You was there too, wasn't ya? Yeah, you was. Ya told me that ya wanted to take over my shift, so I let ya. You suddenly lose your memory or somethin'? 'Cuz you were there, I remember."

Regulus. He must have tricked Mudungus. When they were little looking alike had been great fun, but now it was just troublesome. "Did I look exactly like I look now?"

"What the hell are you…" Sirius cut him off by slamming him against the wall. Mudungus' head smacked painful against the hard brick behind him. He yelped out in pain.

"Answer the damn question! I don't have time for this!"

"Calm down, Black, and I'll tell ya." Mudungus massaged his injured skull while he spoke. "Now that I think 'bout it, I guess you did look a smidge smaller. And your hair was darker. But that doesn't matter! It was dark out and I was tired 'cuz Dumbledore's got me out there all damn night long watchin' Potter sit in a Muggle playground! So when you came up and told me ta leave and tha' you would take over I jumped at the chance! Didn't do nothing wrong!"

Sirius took a deep breath to calm himself. While he wanted to blame in all on Mudungus he knew it wasn't the man's fault. Regulus could have easily fooled him.

"Mudungus, you need to go back to the Order and inform them that Regulus Black is alive. They will understand."

"And why should I do tha'? You ain't the boss of me!"

Sirius slammed him against the wall again. He didn't need this. Harry was trapped with his brother, who was obviously insane. He had no idea what was happening to Harry right now and it was driving him insane. He needed to find him. "As of right now, yes, I am the boss of you, unless you want to leave without your head attached to your body. Harry is in great danger and I need to look for him straight away. Which is why you must tell the Order about Regulus Black. And if you don't I will inform all your unsatisfied costumers where to find you."

"Fine, fine! I'll tell the bloody Order about Regulus Black. After I sell a couple things I'll be right on it." Mudungus attempted to get out of Sirius grip, but failed.

"Now, Mudungus!" Sirius ordered. "I don't have time for this!"

"Bloody 'ell." Mudungus grumbled. "I'm going, I'm going!"

Sirius finally released him and waited until Mudungus apparated away. He only hoped the man would follow instructions. He would have visited the Order himself, but he really needed to start searching right away. Regulus could have hidden Harry anywhere. The sooner he started the more likely he would be able to rescue Harry before Regulus did something bad.

A frown fixed itself to Sirius's face as he pulled his hood over his head and departed Knockturn Alley. If Regulus had done anything, anything at all to cause Harry harm, then brother or no Sirius was going to kill him. Well, maybe not kill him but get really, really close to doing so. He knew he should wait for the Order to join him so they would be able to stop him from doing anything stupid, but he couldn't. He needed to find Harry now. Because he had seen that insanity in Regulus' eyes. The way he had talked about Harry…

Going easy on his brother wasn't an option. Regulus wasn't going to keep him from Harry.

Harry was his godson and Regulus would do well to understand that.

…

Harry knew the best way to avoid the effects the boggart would have on him was to not look at it. So the second Regulus left he went to the corner of the furniture free room and placed his face in his knees. His eyes were closed tight. He knew that the boggart was going to talk to him. Was probably going to touch him. Was going to do anything in its power to scare him shitless.

"Harry…" it hissed. He felt cold fingers run through his hair soothingly before tightening and yanking his head up forcefully. He gasped in pain, but refused to open his eyes to face the person who constantly plagued his nightmares. "Look at me…"

"No," Harry said defiantly. He refused to give in to his fear. It was a boggart. A stupid boggart. It wasn't him. He had dealt with boggarts before_. 'Just don't think about the fear,'_ he thought to himself_. 'Regulus will have to come back and get you out of here sometime. Just hold on till then.' _Although the idea of Regulus coming back wasn't too pleasant either given that he was probably brewing that potion right now. The potion that would turn him back into a child. What if he forgot everything? If that happened then Regulus would be able to easily convince him that Regulus was his godfather. That was probably what Regulus wanted to happen. There had to be some way to prevent that from happening. At least these thoughts were distracting him from the boggart. That is, they were until the boggart spoke again.

"I know you fear me, Harry. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

"I don't fear you." Harry growled. Hopefully if he kept denying it the boggart would just go away.

Harry felt a piercing pain at his neck. Sharp, dagger like nails were cutting into his skin. He gave a quick intake of breath when he felt blood slink down from the wound. Still his eyes remained closed. The boggart would get no pleasure if he didn't respond.

"Harry, Harry, Harry…" The nails sunk in a bit deeper. His neck felt like it was burning. Merlin it hurt really badly. He bit back a whimper. He would not show weakness. "There's no need to pretend. Just give into the fear. It will be easier for you. This isn't like your nightmares, Harry. You can't wake up right now. You can't escape. There's nobody here to stop me from…" the boggart leaned in close so it could whisper in his ear. The breath ghosted over his skin. He closed his eyes tighter. The boggart was so close. "Torturing you…"

A trickle of fear took over Harry. He quickly shook it away. Boggarts couldn't do magic. It was just words. The boggart wanted to draw out his fear. But it wasn't going to work. It was hard, though, when the voice sounded so much like him. Like in his dreams…

"Come now, Harry. I can taste your fear. Just give into it. Look at me and lose yourself in the terror. I want to see it over take you. I want to see it fill your eyes." The boggart pulled back and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Then suddenly the boggart grabbed the front of his robes and yanked him off the ground. He let out a yelp. His head was slammed against the wall and he blacked out momentarily.

Perhaps the boggart hoped that the shock would make Harry open his eyes. It worked. Once he regained consciousness on instinct he opened his eyes. Which was a really bad idea.

The minute he saw the boggart's face he slammed them shut again, much to the annoyance of the boggart. Oh Merlin, how could the boggart look so much like him? It was a perfect resemblance and it scared the shit out of Harry.

"Open your eyes again, Harry." The boggart cooed, running cold finger tips along the side of his face. "Face your fear and look at me. Where is that Gryffindor courage you are known for? Are you a coward, Harry?"

A tiny flame of anger lit up inside Harry. He loathed being called a coward. He was Gryffindor! Being called a coward was the worst sort of insult. But he couldn't let it get to him. This wasn't Draco Malfoy teasing him in the hall on the way to Potion's class. This was a boggart who could and would hurt him, because right now it was _him_.

Apparently the Boggart wasn't very patient. He felt the nails again but this time they were pressing into a very important artery in his neck. A bit more pressure and the nails would cut into it. The boggart couldn't kill him, could it? He had never heard of an instance where a boggart had actually killed someone. Besides, Regulus wouldn't put him in a room with something that could kill him, would he? He knew he was being punished but…Regulus wouldn't go that far, would he? Then again, he was insane…

"Open your eyes now, Potter, and look at me!" the boggart snarled. Harry was slammed against the wall again. "Do as I say or I will enjoy watching you bleed out onto the floor!"

Harry could hear the totally serious tone in the boggart's voice. Boggarts were a lot like dementors. They fed off of peoples' fear. And when they failed to get it they got violent. Harry really wished he had his wand. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes.

The face was paler than freshly fallen snow. Red, silt-like eyes bore right into his very soul. They were the very eyes that haunted his nightmares. The lipless mouth was curled into a sadistic smile. It looked so much like _him._ Harry tried to convince himself that it wasn't, because he couldn't possibly be here. It was a boggart. But it was hard to grasp. Especially when the boggart let out a laugh that sent shivers down Harry's spine. It sounded exactly like his laugh. It was the way he laughed before he tortured Harry in his dreams.

Harry couldn't help the fear that spread through his body. _His _whole appearance just screamed 'fear me!' And Harry knew what he was capable of. He had woke up more than once late at night, covered in sweat and shaking in remembered pain from the Cruciatus Curse.

Harry mentally slapped himself. This wasn't _him. _The boggart couldn't use the torture curse. Harry was being unreasonable. Regulus had put him in here to scare him. And it was working.

"Good boy, Harry. You're learning to listen to me." As a sort of reward, the boggart let go off him. Harry shoved the boggart hard away from him.

"Get away from me!" he yelled. He was tired of being defenseless. He would not sit here and cower in fear from a boggart!

"So defiant, Harry. That will only cause you more pain." The boggart was slowly moving closer.

Harry tried to focus his mind. He had done wand less magic before. Yes, it had been on accident, but perhaps if he could do so now he could banish the boggart and then wait for Regulus to return. If he could do wand less magic now, then maybe he could use it later to get out of this place. 'Okay, Harry, happy thoughts. Don't think about the boggart. Just get a happy memory.'

He shifted through them while he was backing away, but he just couldn't concentrate because of those piercing red eyes. He would just have to wing it. "Riddikulus!" he yelled, holding his arms out in front of him.

Nothing happened.

The boggart laughed. "You do not have a wand, Harry. You cannot harm me."

Harry wasn't going to give up. That wasn't an option. He had to find his magic. He had to imagine the boggart as something funny. Why was this so hard? "RIDDIKULUS!"

Instead of turning into what Harry wanted it to, it instead changed. Now in front of Harry was a large man with a fat face and walrus mustache. His sausage like fingers were curled into fists and before Harry could move he was met with a heavy blow to side of his face. He flew back and crashed into the wall. There was a coopery taste in his mouth. Blood.

"YOU HAVE ANNOYED ME FOR THE LAST TIME, BOY!" the boggart yelled. A huge foot swung forward and connected to Harry's side. Harry couldn't stop the scream that was ripped from his throat. This brought back memories from his childhood. He had to change it, fast, or else the boggart was going to possibly beat him to death.

"R-Riddikulus!" It was hard to speak through the pain. It came out as more of a whimper.

"I DIDN'T HEAR YOU, BOY!" Another kick. The boggart yanked him to his feet by his hair and punched him hard in the eye.

Harry forced himself to fight through the pain. "RIDDIKULUS!"

It changed again. There, in the middle of the room, was Sirius Black, face down on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood. Harry's heart broke into tiny, tiny little pieces. He crawled forward and flipped Sirius over. The front side was even worse. He had a huge gash that split open his chest. Blood was pouring out of it. His hair consisted of messy clumps of knotted hair and dried blood. His eyes were wide and unseeing. A tiny dribble of blood had escaped from his mouth and ran down the side of his face.

Sirius was dead.

"No…" Harry whispered, placing a hand on his godfather's chest. There was no comforting heartbeat that Harry was used to feeling. The tears that had been forming in his eyes slid silently down his cheeks. "No, Sirius, wake up…please wake up…" He shook his godfather, hoping for a reaction. He didn't receive one.

It was fake. It was fake and he needed to get a grip. This wasn't Sirius. His mind knew this. His heart, though, didn't. What he saw was his godfather, the closest thing to a dad that he had, dead. And if Sirius was dead there would be no more playing Quidditch, talking about the past, or warm comforting hugs. Sirius was the only person who held him together most of the time. Sure he had Ron and Hermione but Sirius…Sirius just understood without Harry having to say anything. When Harry was angry he knew how to calm him. When Harry was scared or stressed Sirius knew how to soothe his fears. If he was gone…

Harry scooted away from the body and returned to his corner, where he curled into a ball. He couldn't look at the body. He just couldn't. Sirius was dead. A small sob escaped him. He couldn't help it. Just the idea that Sirius could die was enough to crush his heart.

He wasn't naïve enough to think that Sirius would never die but….he had already lost so much. He couldn't lose his godfather as well…he just couldn't…

…

Regulus pushed his hair out of his face for the umpteenth time as he bent over the potion. It was almost done. It had been a couple of hours, but the wait was going to be worth it. This potion, once given to Harry, was going to make Regulus' dream of raising a godson reality. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing Sirius could do about it. Even if he did find them, it would already be too late.

He wondered how Harry was doing. Perhaps he had been too harsh. Being trapped in a room with a boggart was no easy feat. He shook his head firmly. Of course it was a reasonable punishment. Mother and Father and done it to him before, more than once. It taught him fear and how to obey his elders. Harry needed to learn fear. It was for the best that he did.

Regulus carefully dropped in five newt eyes one by one and the potion turned a baby blue color. Regulus grinned. It was finished. He put out the fire on the bottom of the cauldron and waited for it to cool. He turned to the set drawers behind him and shifted through the potion making utensils to find the needle he was looking for. Unfortunately the potion would have to be inserted by force as he doubted Harry would take it otherwise. No matter. When Harry was a child it would be much easier to mold him. He would not forget what he knows now, but he would have the emotions and speech of a five year old.

Very carefully so that he did not spill a drop, Regulus poured a bit of the potion into the tube. When he sealed it closed, he gave it an experimental squeeze to make sure it was working. It was. Things were working in his favor today.

After cleaning up Regulus left the room and headed to where he had left Harry. He was very, very excited. Giving Harry this potion would be another huge step forward towards making Harry his godson. Harry would grow to love him as a godfather and Sirius would be left in the dust. It was all going to work out perfectly.

He pushed open the door and was met with the sight of his brother dead upon the floor. His heart sunk for a second. While he hated his brother with a passion that could rival that of the Dark Lord's for Harry, he did not want his brother to die. Sirius was, even after all they had been though, his brother. Besides, if he were to die he would not be able to suffer like Regulus wanted him to.

He realized quickly enough that it was the boggart and not his brother. Apparently Harry was afraid of his godfather dying. Of course.

He moved his gaze across the room and saw Harry hidden in the corner, fast asleep. Regulus took three steps forward. The boggart, sensing someone new, quickly transformed. Now facing Regulus was…Regulus. An exact copy of the man was standing in the middle of the room, doing nothing more than staring. The real Regulus stared right back into the copy's crazed eyes.

He would never admit that he was scared of himself. Sure, sometimes he looked into the mirror for long periods of time and would not recognize himself. And sure, some of the things he had done weren't exactly good. But he did not fear himself. There was no reason to. He was intelligent, cunning, and as of now he had Harry. He was great. He liked himself. This boggart was obviously confused.

It watched him as he made his way across the room and knelt down next to Harry. He gently gripped the boy's face and lifted it. Harry's face was stained with tears and bruised. A trail of dried blood ran from his mouth. He wondered what form the boggart had took to cause these injuries. It made him angry that Harry knew someone who would hurt him like this. But at least it would have taught Harry a lesson.

Regulus used his wand to levitate Harry behind him as he walked out of the room. The boggart watched him until the door closed.

Regulus went to Sirius's old room and levitated Harry on to the bed. With a flick Harry's robes were vanished and he was left in his pants. He shivered slightly, but did not wake. Regulus walked forward and observed the bruises that marred the boy's skin. He summoned Mitzi and asked her to tend to the boy's injuries. When she was done, she departed and Regulus moved forward. He took Harry's arm and inspected it, looking for a vein. He lightly pushed the needle into the skin while watching Harry's face. The boy flinched but still he remained asleep. Regulus injected the liquid into Harry's blood stream.

The effects wouldn't be instantaneous but by morning the change would be complete. Harry twitched slightly in his sleep and a look of pain overtook his face. His breathing grew heavy and he let out a little whimper. "Shhhhh, Harry." Regulus whispered while gently stroking the boy's unruly hair. "That pain will pass." He placed a small kiss to the top of Harry's head and left the room.

Soon…soon Harry would be his godson. That was all that mattered at the moment. He couldn't feel pity for the boy now. Nobody had felt pity for him when he was younger. Harry would learn. Once he did his time here would be much more enjoyable.

His plan would not be ruined.

**Any suggestions for this story? What do you think of Regulus' character? Did you enjoy this chapter?**

**Review, review, review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Harry didn't wake for two whole days. When he finally cracked open his eyes, he felt terrible. His stomach hurt and his body felt weird and very, very weak. He lifted his small fist and rubbed at his eyes. Yawning, he stumbled out of bed to go make the Dursley's breakfast like he did every morning. With his mind in a muddled mess, Harry failed to realize that he was not in number four Privet Drive. He felt his clothes hanging off his body more than they usually did, but just assumed Dudley had gotten fatter.

He shuffled his feet dejectedly through the halls, his eyes half lidded. He should make pancakes, he decided. The Dursley's liked pancakes. If he hurried, maybe he would be able to go back to bed. What day was it? He wasn't sure. He didn't think he had to go to elementary school today. It felt like a weekend.

He struggled with opening the door to the kitchen, which for some reason was very heavy today. He wrapped his small fingers around handle and yanked. The force was too much and he fell back, landing painfully on his butt. Tears appeared in his eyes as he realized he had scraped his knee. He brought it closer to him with a sniffle, watching the blood rise up and stain the skin.

"Oh, Harry, did you hurt yourself?"

Harry looked up at the voice to see a man there. Harry squinted at him. He could have swore he knew this man.

Then it clicked. He remembered that he was not at Privet Drive and he wasn't four years old. He was in fact trapped in a house with the insane brother of his godfather, and had been given a deaging potion.

"Reggie, you are a meanie head!" Harry shouted. He slammed his mouth closed when he heard what came out. He had been trying to say that Regulus was a right git, but the four year old version had been spoken instead.

Regulus smiled and kneeled so he was down to Harry's level. When he took out his wand, Harry flinched, expecting the worst, but Regulus mearly healed his knee. "There, all better." Regulus pocketed his wand. He tilted his head to observe Harry, who had brought his knees to his chest and had his arms wrapped around them protectively. Tears still pricked at his eyes. Fear filled Harry, and while before he could dismiss it, it was now impossible. From his view, Regulus looked like the boogey monster, intent on scaring him.

He whimpered and hid his face in his knees, shaking slightly. Regulus was so much bigger than him now. Before maybe Harry had a chance, but now...there was no way he could escape while in this state. On punch from Regulus and he would probably get a concussion. It didn't help matters that Harry had always been small for his age, so he was short, even by four year old standards. He felt the uncontrolable tears come again, Harry powerless to stop them. He felt so weak.

"It's okay, Harry." Regulus cooed. He leaned down and scooped the boy up into his arms. Craddling Harry, Regulus realized that his godson wasn't struggling like he expected. 'But the boy must be oh so hungry,' he thought. 'He hasn't eaten a thing in two days. With a little food he'll feel much better.' He turned and walked into the dining room, noticing how light Harry was. The boy was much too small, which worried Regulus. He woud have to fix that. Harry would be happy here, and would want for nothing. Except, perhaps, an escape.

Harry said nothing as he was placed on a chair that had a booster seat on it. He tried not to feel too embarassed by it and held his head high. He was hungry and he needed food. Struggling right now would be pointless. He wasn't stupid. He knew that Regulus, in his deranged state, would most likely not hesitate to torture a four year old if he thought it would help along his plans.

Regulus snapped his fingers and house elves entered, hurrying to place food on the table. In front of Harry, Mitzi, the one house elf he knew, placed a grilled cheese sandwich with a smiley face drawn with ketchup on top in front of him and a side of mac & cheese. He was also given a small cup of milk and some carrot sticks.

He glared at Regulus. This was downright humiliating. This was little kid food and if Harry hadn't been so hungry, he would have refused it. As it was, however, his stomach was currently trying to eat itself, so he had no other choice.

Harry was quiet as he ate, refusing to say a word. After a few minutes of this, Regulus placed down his fork and looked over at Harry. "Harry, I understand that you may not agree with my course of action. You aren't able to see this situation through my eyes. I may have acted a bit harshly." He sighed. "I am sorry for forcing this on you, but I do not regret it."

Harry frowned. "Why'd you do it, Reggie?" He looked down at his third grilled cheese sandwich, glaring at the smiley face that seemed to taunt him. "I don't wanna be four years old. I wanna be a big boy! Make me big again!" He slammed his small fist down on the table. He could feel a tantrum coming on, and he hadn't had one of those since he was five. He wanted to cry and scream at the same time. This was so unfair.

"Look at it through my eyes, Harry. Surely you've been abandoned and let down by someone you considered a friend. Left alone."

Harry forced down any thoughts about Ron during the TwiWizard tournament.

"Surely you've been shunned, left all alone while everyone whispered behind your back." Regulus rested his head against his hand. "And I know for a fact that people expect too much of you. It was the same for me when I was growing up."

Harry turned to him, his gaze questioning. "What'd you mean? Siwri told me your mommy and daddy liked you lots better than him."

Regulus had to smile at the adorable jumble of words coming out of Harry's mouth. Oh yes, he had definetly made the right choice in changing the boy. "That's only sort of true. Mother and Father disliked both of us. I don't believe they knew the definition of the word love. They didn't even love each other. It was an arranged marriage. All they cared about was their social status. And since Sirius was already a lost cause...well, my parents decided to throw everything at me. I was put under a lot of pressure, and without Sirius there to help it just became too much, I'm afraid." Regulus reached over and plucked a carrot stick from Harry's plate, smiling as the adorable boy pouted at him. "But I've actually done you a favor, Harry. Sirius leaves every one he cares about at one point or another."

"You're lying, Reggie!" Harry said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and glaring. "Siwri would never leave me. He loves me very much. He's my god daddy."

"I know he loves you, Harry. I've seen it with my own eyes. But don't you think he loved me, or Remus, or James, or Peter?" Regulus replied smoothly. "He left me without a second thought, begun doubting Remus' loyalty and stopped talking to him, he grew angry at your father when he started hanging out with Lily more and more. Need I mention what happened with Peter?"

Harry averted his gaze, not wanting to admit that anything Regulus said could be true. "You're a big lair pants, Reggie. Siwri is the bestest person ever."

Regulus waved his hand dismissively. "Think whatever you like. Since you won't be seeing him any more, it doesn't really matter."

Yet again Regulus mentioned the thing that Harry feared. Never seeing Sirius again and being stuck here forever. Harry felt the tears again. Merlin, why was his four year old self so bloody emotional. He wiped furiously at his eyes, refusing to cry in front of Regulus again. Regulus was trying to get him like this. He was trying to get him to doubt Sirius. But it wasn't going to happen. Sirius was going to find him.

Harry had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize that Regulus had left his seat until he was being picked up and held in the man's arms. He started squirming and whining, demanding to being put down.

"Shhhhh, Harry. Calm yourself." Regulus started walking towards the doors. Despite Harry's vilant attempts at escaping, they were soon out in the hall, Harry pouting as Regulus continued to carry him to whereever the bloody hell they were going.

When Regulus didn't mention where he was taking him, Harry decided it was time to ask. "Reggie, where we going?"

Regulus looked pointedly down at Harry as he answered, never ceasing his walk forward. "You are going to take a bath. After sleeping for three straight days you smell rather foul."

Harry increased his struggling tenfold. "I don't wanna take a bath!"

But it was too late. They had already entered a room that looked amazingly similar to the Prefect's bathroom at Howarts. It had the same huge circular pool with all the different colored taps. He was finally placed on his feet so that Regulus could take off his now too big robe. Regulus placed a pair of swim trunks in his hands. "Do you know how to swim, Harry?"

"No, I sink all the time and that's why I was one of the bestest winners in the Tri-Wizardy contest." He said sarcastically, huffing and crossing his arms across his chest.

Regulus laughed. "You are just too cute, Harry." He ruffled the angry boy's hair so that it was messed up even more. Harry stuck out his tounge. "Just be careful. I have placed charms to prevent you from drowning, but still. I will return in thirty minutes and then get you ready for bed as it is late. We have a big day tommorrow, Harry, one I'm sure you will enjoy."

With a kiss to his forehead, Regulus left him all alone in the huge room. Harry stuck out his tounge again, just because he could.

Deciding there was no harm in taking a bath, even though he really didn't want to, Harry took off his clothes and slipped into the swimming trunks. He was going have fun with this, as he doubted fun would be in limited supply in the time he was stuck with that maniac.

The taps were hard to turn, but he managed and thankfully sank into the whole room smelt like lavender and the bubbles continously changed colors. The water was nice and warm. It soothed him.

Not three seconds after he entered the water, toys started to appear. There was a little boat, some action figures, and even one of those floating noodle tooys. Harry wanted to not acknowledge them as he was a teenager and didn't play with toys like that, but as much as he fought his four year old self, it still won out. Soon the Merlin action figure was fighting the big evil rubber duck as Harry swam around the pool making fighting noises and splashing around.

Just as the epic battle was about to come to an amazing conclusion, Harry turned his head and froze. The toys fell from his hands, Merlin taking residence at the bottom of the pool. On the edge of the pool sat a ghost boy who was staring at him intently.

He seemed to be about eight years old and looked remarkably like the pictures of Bellatrix Lestrange that Sirius had shown him. The boy continued looking at him without blinking, and Harry found himself becoming very uncomfortable. He stood akwardly in the shallow end of the pool, arms hugging himself.

It was the boy who broke the silence. "Are you Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded slowly.

"I saw you in Sirius's old room, but I did not know your name. Then I saw you with the boggart and I put the pieces together. I was mad Regulus did that to you. It's pure torture. You did not deserve that."

So this boy had known Sirius and Regulus. Harry wondered in Regulus knew the boy was here. "Who are you?" he asked.

The boy lifted himself from the edge of the pool and floated over to where Harry was. He stopped when he was hovering above the water three feet away from Harry, who was backed up against the wall of the pool. The boy smiled. "You don't need to be afraid, Harry Potter. I will not harm you, nor can I. Though I understand that because of the interference with your younger mind, you may feel inclined to think of me as scary."

"You are only a little scary. But I'm a big boy. I know ghosties can't hurt me."

"Good," The ghost boy sat and crossed his legs, inches above the water of the pool. He sighed. "My name is Cepheus Lestrange, son of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange."

"Sirwi never told me that Bella had a baby." Harry mumbled, wondering what else his godfather hadn't told him. Then again, this ghost boy could just be lying. He could have been sent by Regulus or something. He wasn't going to trust so quickly.

"Well, she wasn't very public about it. She had me so when I grew older I could become a Death Eater and served under the Dark Lord. In her eyes it was the greatest gift to give her master a life to join his cult. She never loved me." Cepheus' face fell a bit, but other than that he showed little emotion.

"But you're little, why are you a ghostie?" Harry tilted his head to the side curiously.

Like most ghosts, this boy seemed to like talking about his death, which Harry found strange. "My mother was in denial for a very long time. She tried to convince herself that I was just a late bloomer...that my magic would come soon and I would be incredibly powerful...but it didn't happen. I was a squib. And as you can imagine my mother didn't take that very well. My father tried to hide me but...it was the Dark Lord's orders that I was to be killed. So my mother took it upon herself to complete the job."

"I'm sorry," Harry said. He wondered how any body could ever kill their own child, just because they were a little different. But then again, the Dursley's abused him for the same reason."I lost my mommy and daddy too cuz of Voldy."

"I know. But it was my mother's choice to kill me."

The sat in silence for a few moments until Harry thought of a question. "What about Reggie and Siwri? How did you know dem?"

"Well, Regulus really liked me. He would constantly come over and ask to see me and he would buy me all these toys and other things I wanted. And Sirius visited sometimes too. And Regulus was really, really devestated when I died. He never forgave my mother." Cepheus looked around the room. "But he treated me best. I stay in this house a lot when I'm not wandering. He does not know I am here."

"But why you a ghostie?"

Cepheus lifted a see through hand and examined it curiously. "I don't know. I suspect unfinished business, though I have no idea what that could be. It's been so long now that I don't really wonder about it anymore. Ghosts are rather nice and interesting people, so I don't hate it." The ghost boy looked at him again. "What do you think of Regulus?"

Harry scrunched up his nose in annoyance. "He's a poopy face. He''s mean and he made me little again and I don't wanna be little. I wanna be a teen, but Reggie changed it. I don't like him, not even a little itty bitty tiny bit." Harry huffed and crossed his ams. "And..." Harry's shoulders slumped a bit. "He says that Siwri doesn't love me..." Damn tears...

Cepheus got up and floated over to him. He took the spot next to Harry. He placed an ice cold hand on Harry's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Regulus is just jealous, Harry. I have seen Sirius here before, and he cares for you very much. More than you could ever know."

Harry sighed. He looked over at Cepheus, wondering why this ghost boy was even talking to him. It wasn't like he could help Harry escape or return to his normal age. "Why you talking to me, Cephie?"

The ghost shrugged. "I thought you could use someone to talk to. What with Regulus and everything, I thought you would want someone else to talk to. Besides, we could..." Cepheus trailed off, his brow furrowed together and he tilted his head as if listening for something.

Suddenly, he stiffened. "He's coming..." he whispered.

"Who?" Harry asked, glancing around but seeing nothing. "Is Reggie coming?"

Cepheus got up, his eyes darting all around the room. "No, not Regulus...I-I have to go. I will visit you tommorrow, Harry." He started flying towards the ceiling. He paused just as he was going to phase through the stone. "Brace yourself." he mumbled, and then he was gone.

Before Harry could proccess what this might mean, his scar exploded. It felt like some was clawing at his mind and bashing on his skull. Whimpering, Harry managed to crawl out of the pool and collasped onto the floor, tears streaming down his face. He felt Voldemort tearing through his mind, searching for where he was located. Harry tried to hide it, shoving it to the back of the mind like he had been taught. That only made Voldemort increase the pain.

The doors to the room flew open and Regulus ran inside. He hurried over to Harry and scooped the boy into his arms. Harry buried his face in Regulus' shoulder, soaking it with his tears and shaking. "Shhhh..." Regulus whispered, rubbing Harry's back soothingly while carrying the boy out of the room, not even caring that the water dripping off the boy would ruin his robes.

"It hurts, Reggie..." Harry sobbed, clutching tight to Regulus. "Make it stop, please Reggie."

Regulus placed gentle kisses on Harry's head, wishing he could do something to stop Harry's pain. He went into Sirius' room and placed Harry on the bed. Quickly he changed the thrashing boy into pajamas.

Harry had calmed down a bit, but tiny whimpers still escaped his mouth. Regulus tucked him in all nice and comfy into the covers, whispering words of comfort and running his hands through Harry's unruly hair.

Harry reached out and grabbed Regulus' hand, holding it against his chest. He stared up at Regulus with tear filled eyes, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. "He knows that I'm little...he knows..."

Regulus face visibly paled. His shaking fingers tightened around Harry's small hand. "Don't you worry about that, Harry. Everything is going to be okay. The Dark Lord will not hurt you, I swear it. Just rest."

It took a long time, but eventually the pain faded, leaving Harry exhausted. He let go of Regulus' hand after realising that he had been holding it. The man was looking at him with worry in his grey eyes, and he seemed reluctant to leave even as he stood up to do so.

Harry wasn't sure what made him do it, but he motioned tiredly for Regulus to sit back down. He wanted him there in case Voldemort came back. This was something Sirius always did when he visited, and the two looked so alike Harry bet it would have the same calming effect. "Stay, Reggie, please."

Regulus plopped back down into his chair, reaching out to wipe the tear tracks off of Harry's face. He hated seeing his godson in pain. "Are you alright, Harry?"

The small boy nodded and curled into himself a little, his eyes flickering shut. Regulus checked once again to make sure the boy was comfortable, unable to relax. He had forgotten about the Dark Lord recently, too caught up with Harry. But the threat was back now, and Regulus would have to face it.

He only knew this : no matter what, the Dark Lord would never get his hands on Harry. 


	7. Chapter 7

"Lucius, Severus, you may enter now."

The doors to the Dark Lord's chambers opened inward and the two Death Eaters entered swiftly. Their Lord was sitting in a high-backed black chair, facing the fire place and staring intently at the flames, his fingers steepled together.

"Have a seat," he ordered.

They did so, taking their places on either side of their Master. There was an uneasy silence that was thick in the air, causing the two newly entered men to shift uncomfortably. They knew what their Lord had called them here to talk about. What they didn't know was how this meeting would go. Their Lord seemed very deep in thought and there was something in his eyes that told them he had learned something that bothered him.

"What have you learned from the Order about the boy, Severus?"

"I have some news that will interest you, My Lord." Severus Snape replied.

The Dark Lord turned his dark gaze on him. "Continue,"

"Mudungus Fletcher came to the Order, My Lord, sent by Sirius Black to inform us that the one who has captured Potter…this might come as a shock, My Lord, but it is Regulus Black."

He saw the Dark Lord's eyes widen a fraction. "Regulus Black…" The Dark Lord turned back to the fireplace, rolling the name around on his tongue. He hadn't thought he would ever hear that name again. "I thought he was dead."

"So did I, My Lord." Snape said carefully, sensing that the Dark Lord was not happy with this turn of events. "But thinking back I realized that we never actually proved he was dead. We only assumed because of where he was, My Lord, and the fact that he never responded to his Dark Mark."

The Dark Lord did not look pleased. "Is this true, Lucius? Did you just assume that Regulus Black was dead even though I told you to be absolutely sure and hunt him down if you were not?" Wordlessly he ordered Lucius to stand in front of him.

"My Lord, we were completely sure he was dead." Lucius stood with his head bowed in front of the fireplace. "There was no doubt in our mind. My team was very thorough. Perhaps Sirius Black was mistaken."

"You believe that Sirius Black may have mistaken in own brother?" Voldemort said coolly, pulling out his wand and resting it on the arm rest, pointing at Lucius.

"My Lord, I assure you that Regulus Black died all those years ago."

"I think you are lying, Lucius." Voldemort raised his wand. "Crucio!"

Lucius fell to the floor, screaming for the whole manor to hear. He convulsed violently and twitched on the floor, shrieking, while the Dark Lord turned to Snape. "Severus, I will put you in charge for this mission, since Lucius has proven himself incapable. You will have to locate Regulus Black. Check all of the Black families houses and find the boy. He will not be able to put up a fight."

Snape looked at him quizzically. "And why is that, My Lord?"

The Dark Lord smirked wickedly. "It seems that poor little Harry has been turned into a small child again, thanks to Regulus Black. Any struggle he will provide you can easily stop. That is if he doesn't start crying." He chuckled.

Even though Snape's face did not change, inside he was shocked. Potter had been deaged? The Order was not going to like this. Not at all. If he only knew what potion had been used, then he could create an antidote. Without that information there was nothing he could do. And he didn't know what age Potter had been changed too. Knowing that was necessary to mix up an antidote.

"I don't want you to inform the Order of this turn of events, Severus. It would be best if they are ignorant. It will give us the advantage." The Dark Lord's red eyes bore into his. "Do you understand?"

Snape stood from the chair and bowed. "Yes, My Lord, I understand completely. The Order will not be told."

"See that it doesn't." The Dark Lord then seemed to remember Lucius, whose throat was too raw to scream anymore. He was now just jerking viciously, eyes rolling madly into the back of his head. He slowly ended the curse, leaving Lucius lying face down on the floor, panting deeply. "You have a chance to redeem yourself, Lucius, by locating where Regulus is hiding and doing what I ordered you to do years ago."

"Y…y-yes, M-my Lord…" Lucius croaked, staggering to his feet and giving a very shaky bow. "I-I will n-not fail you…again."

"You are both dismissed." said the Dark Lord, returning his attention back to the flickering flames, returning to his previous thoughts.

The two men left the room, Lucius leaning heavily on Snape.

The Dark Lord felt a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth. This situation with little Harry was perfect. The boy would be hard put to even talk properly let alone raise a wand against him. Harry Potter was no longer a threat to him, and with that worry out of the way he would be free to concentrate on other endeavors. Harry would be disposed of easily now, one way or the other. He wasn't sure if he would kill the boy. Not even he had ever murdered one so young. Perhaps he would keep him around. It wasn't like he could do any harm. His young mind would be easy to mold to his liking, and as long as the boy was away from influences like the Order and Regulus Black, he would be easy to turn.

And if not, he could always make little Harry go insane. While at his older age Harry's mind put up a fight, his mind was now an open book to the Dark Lord. It took little to no effort to send the boy dreams and cause him pain.

Oh yes, the Dark Lord decided, leaning back in his chair. Once he got his hands on the boy everything would go perfectly. Harry Potter, Dumbledore's Golden boy, would be out of the equation. There would be panic and he would seize control.

The Wizarding World would be his.

OoO

"Reggie, where we going?" Harry asked for the millionth time in the past five minutes, making Regulus roll his eyes skyward and hope to Merlin they would reach their destination soon. If only the driver would get there a little faster.

"I told you already that it's a surprise." Regulus said calmly, his voice a bit stressed. He was not in the best of moods. Firstly when he had woken up he had realized he had fallen asleep in Harry's room, his arm at an awkward angle. Said appendage was now killing him. While he was happy he had been there for Harry, he wished he had had the common sense to sleep in his own room.

Secondly, Regulus had made some off handed negative remark about his brother during breakfast and Harry had promptly thrown a fit. His toast had hit Regulus square in the face. It took a whole twenty minutes to calm the boy down, and by that time Harry had egg in his hair and Regulus was drenched in maple syrup, a hot cake resting on his shoulder.

Thirdly, he had to hail a wizard cab because he was rubbish at side along apparition and didn't want Harry to be harmed. Because of this though, for the past half an hour he had been forced to hold Harry, who found great pleasure in poking him harshly and asking him ridiculous questions.

"Siwri would have told me…" the small boy grumbled, huffing and crossing his arms.

Regulus sighed and held the boy closer to him as they hit a huge bump in the road that almost sent him flying. He had called for a decent cab to come, but had received instead this crummy, beat up car that was devoid of seatbelts and that was driven by a rather nasty driver.

He had considered calling again and demanding that a better cab be sent, but by the time it would have arrived it would have been too late, and they would have missed what he was planning for his little godson. He hoped Harry would appreciate the effort he was going through, though he doubted it. The boy was angry at him at the moment. Harry had seen them going out of the house as an opportunity to possible be recognized even in his toddler state. He would merely have to flash his scar and everyone would know it was him. Knowing this, Regulus had covered it with muggle makeup and placed a charm so that Harry couldn't rub it away no matter how had he tried. Needless to say the boy had tried to rub his forehead raw and when there was no change, instantly grew furious at Regulus.

His glasses were gone too, his eyes having been fixed with a quick temporary charm.

Regulus placed his head on top of Harry's, closing his eyes. "I promise, Harry, that you will have a brilliant time."

"We'll see…" Harry mumbled. He yelped and clung to Regulus as they hit yet another bump in the road, which at the break neck speed they were going, was very dangerous. Regulus held Harry tight and banged on the glass separating them from the driver.

"There is a child back here, slow down this instant!" Regulus yelled at the man.

Regulus had to quickly slap his hands over Harry's ears as the driver let out a long stream of curse words at him, all of which were much too vulgar for his little godson. Harry clutched his robes tighter as once again they flew into the air, a tiny whimper escaping his lips. That was the last straw. Regulus pulled out his wand and made the cab come to an abrupt halt.

He ushered Harry out of the car and told him to stand there on the side of the dirt road while he got in a yelling match with the driver. He gestured to Harry and shouted something, which seemed to piss the man in the car off because he flipped Regulus the bird and drove away in a fury. With a flick of his wand Regulus shattered the cab's rear view mirror and screamed at it until it pulled out of sight.

Breathing deeply, Regulus took Harry's hand and started walking, pulling the confused boy behind him. "Reggie?" Harry questioned cautiously, sensing that the man was in a bad mood.

"It's okay, Harry." Regulus assured him, giving his hand a soothing squeeze. "We are close, we can just walk. Staying in that cab and getting there faster was not worth the possibility of you getting hurt."

So they trudged along, coming closer and closer to the destination that only Regulus knew. Soon, Harry heard loud music playing and chatter. But no matter how close they were, Harry could feel his small legs straining to continue walking the long distance. Regulus was much faster than him and it was difficult to keep up. He tried to keep going, not wanting to admit he needed help.

It seemed he didn't need to. Regulus realized this for himself. He stopped, picked Harry up and placed the small boy on his shoulders. He continued walking, grasping Harry's legs so he wouldn't fall off. Harry was thankful but didn't say anything, not wanting to come clean about needing assistance.

From his new vantage point, Harry could now clearly see where they were going. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the huge stadium with wizard and witches of all sorts streaming into it. And above the huge structure, figures on brooms were flying like birds in the sky. "We going to a Quidditch match, Reggie?" He couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. He remembered the Quidditch world cup he went to last summer and how much fun he had. Sure last time had been with his friends and this time it was with Regulus Black, but it was still amazing. "Who is playing?"

Regulus chuckled at Harry's enthusiasm. He knew the boy would love his surprise. "The Highland Harpies vs. the Scotland Dragons. And I got us box seats."

"Reggie, this is gonna be so much fun!" Harry nearly squealed, bouncing up and down in his excitement.

Regulus grit his teeth and forced a smile. He was glad his godson was happy, but his shoulder was killing him. Harry's constant movement wasn't helping anything. He made it his mission to get to the stadium as soon as possible so he could finally put the boy down.

They arrived amongst the tents surrounding the stadium ten minutes later, Harry a huge grin on his face and Regulus struggling to keep his arm from giving out. "Reggie, can we get popcorn?" Harry asked, being drawn to the buttery aroma.

"Of course, Harry. You can get whatever your little heart desires." The man placed Harry on the ground so he could pay for said popcorn and give it to the smiling boy. He placed his hand on Harry's back, leading him forward. Harry stuffed his face with popcorn and looked around wondrously. It was even more amazing then he remembered. There were so many people, so many sights, and so many noises! He ran over to a tent selling t shirts and practically begged Regulus to get him one. While he was haggling the price, Harry snuck of to the tent across from it, where they were selling sweets.

He ran around the counter and up to the sweet maker, who was this big, burly man with a yellow apron wrapped around his waist. Harry tugged on the apron, jumping up and down until the man looked down at him. A huge smile graced the man's features. He got down to Harry's level and rustled the boy's hair. "Hey there, little tyke." The man said. "What are you going back here?"

Harry had to hurry before Regulus realized he was gone. "I'm Harry Potter!" he whispered, waving his arms around for emphasis.

The man only chuckled and picked Harry off the ground despite his squirming, placing him on the counter. "You're Harry Potter, eh?" he lifted Harry's bangs, humoring the child. "Oh yes, I can definitely see the scar."

A huge smile over took Harry's face. Yes, this man believed him! He could get him away from Regulus and back to Sirius! "You need to get Reggie, cuz he's the big meanie who took me!"

"Harry, are you bothering this nice man?" Regulus was suddenly next to him, clutching the shirt he had brought in one hand.

The baker waved his hand dismissively. "The boy was no trouble. He was just telling me all about how he's Harry Potter." Both men laughed at that and Harry felt his heart sink. The man didn't believe him, he had just been indulging what he assumed was a small child's wild imagination.

"But I am Harry Potter!" Harry shouted, feeling utterly helpless. All anybody saw when they looked at him now was a four year old who bore a little resemblance to Harry Potter. Harry was starting to miss when people would recognize him on the streets and ask him for autographs. Who was going to believe him now? "I am, I am, I am!"

Regulus gently patted him on the back, a small smile on his lips. He was a really good actor. "How many times do I have to tell you that just because your name is Harry doesn't mean you are Harry Potter?" Regulus kissed the top of his head, laughing quietly. "Silly boy."

Admitting defeat, Harry said not another word. He was given a cookie by the baker. He nibbled on it unhappily while the two men talked. With one last laugh and a wave goodbye, Regulus lowered him from the counter, took his hand, and walked away.

He was lead past the tents to a large tree that was on the edge of the festivities. Regulus let go of his hand and crouched down so he could look Harry in the eyes. He placed his hands on Harry's shoulders, letting out a sigh. "Harry, I know you don't like me very much. Probably not at all. And I know that you hate me for doing what I did to you." Regulus lowered his gaze. "This day and everything I have planned is for you. I want you to have fun today. If you have fun, then I will be happy. All I'm asking for is that for this one day you just let me make you happy and let me enjoy spending time with my godson who I know is most likely going to be taken from me very soon. Today I don't want for me to be Regulus Black and for you to be Harry Potter. I just want to pretend that you like me for just a few hours. I want to spend time with you." He looked back up at Harry. "I promise you can go back to hating me in the morning. Just give me this day and then we can continue with me being the crazed lunatic who wants to be my godson and you being the poor child who has to put up with me. At least until you are 'rescued'. Can you do that for me, Harry?"

Harry considered it. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to pretend to like Regulus for just one day. It could be fun after all, and Regulus seemed to be in a sane state of mind at the moment. He might as well enjoy it while he could before Regulus went back to crazy land. And it seemed like Regulus really needed this. "Okay, Reggie, you can be my god daddy for today."

The happiness in Regulus' eyes was indescribable. He lifted Harry in the air and twirled him around, beaming. He clutched Harry close to him, whispering, "Thank you so much, Harry."

Harry covered Regulus mouth with his small hand, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Shush and get me some Jelly beans."

OoO

The box seats were nearly full when they got there, as the game was about twenty minutes from starting. Regulus gave Harry a kiss on the head and placed him in the front row with the other children so he would be able to see better. Regulus took his place among the adults and started up a conversation.

Harry was playing with the blue dragon that Regulus had brought him, making it swoop through the air and kill invisible foes. He was a little surprised when a red dragon swooped in next to his making strange roaring sounds. He looked at the arm attached to the dragon to find a boy of about fifteen grinning at him like a loon. "Hi, little guy. Can I play with you? You seemed lonely."

Harry looked the boy up and down, inspecting the new arrival. He had bright blue eyes complimented by sandy blonde hair. He was rather pale. Harry assumed he was tall, though it was hard to tell since the boy was sitting. He seemed nice enough. "Yeah, you can play. But my dragon's got tough scales, so you gotta watch out."

The boy chuckled and made their dragons butt heads. Harry made his dragon attack back viciously, making snarly faces at the other boy's dragon. They did this for a while, Harry really getting into it and having fun. His younger self was definitely affecting him more and more, though he couldn't find it in himself to be angry about that. He really was having fun thanks to the little kid side of him, despite being with Regulus. It wasn't the worst way to be when being trapped with a lunatic.

Suddenly, the boy placed his hand over Harry's dragon, effectively stopping it. Harry pouted at him. The boy smiled, revealing very white teeth. "I know you were having fun, but do you want to see something even better?"

Curious, Harry nodded. The boy took the two dragons into his hands and told Harry to put his hands on top and close his eyes. When he opened them, the two dragons were alive, moving around and breathing little tufts of fire. Harry's eyes went wide. "How you do that?"

The boy placed the dragons down and wiggled his fingers. "Magic!"

Harry watched in wonder as the two dragons started to actually fighting each other in front of him. "That's so cool!"

"Glad you like it."

Harry reached out to poke one of the dragons, yelping when it tried to bite him.

"So, what's your name?" the boy asked, not even looking at the dragons, as if he had seen it a million times before.

"Harry." Harry replied, turning his gaze to look at the boy. The dragons were sleeping now anyway.

"That's a cool name. Mine's Noah. Noah Walker." He held out his hand for Harry to shake.

Harry did so, even though his hand was dwarfed by the size of Noah's. "Why you not playing with the big kids?" Harry questioned, pointing at the group of teenagers higher up in the stands. "You don't wanna play with me. I'm small."

Noah glared at the teens hatefully. "They're all jerks, Harry. The whole lot of them." He smiled at Harry. "And while you may be small, but you are much nicer than any of them."

"Well you are nice too, Noah. You wanna be my friend?" As Harry looked at the teen, he tried to see if he recognized him from Hogwarts. He prided himself on being good with faces. He wasn't in Gryffindor, that much he was sure. Not Slytherin either. Harry had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on the snakes and see which ones were heading down the Death Eater path. So maybe Hufflepuff? The boy didn't seem like a Ravenclaw.

"Sure! My father was just telling me to make new friends. Not sure this is exactly what he meant," he shrugged. "But oh well."

"You want some jellybeans?" Harry offered, holding out a handful.

Noah took one and popped it into his mouth. He instantly gagged and spit the jellybean out, wiping at his tongue. "Gross, I got spinach!"

Harry grabbed one of his own and ate it. He smiled. "I got marshmallow!"

"No fair…" grumbled Noah. He tried another and again gagged. "Ewww, dirt!" He spit it out onto the floor.

When it was Harry's turn he picked again. This time he got strawberry. He grinned cheekily at Noah, who bopped him on the nose. "I think someone is cheating and giving me all the bad ones."

"Nuh uh! You just unlucky, Noah!"

Noah looked at him suspiciously, smirking. They continued their game. Harry received chocolate, vanilla, mint, orange, and dragon fruit, which Harry actually liked. He sniggered as Noah got sand, cabbage, salt, wood, and olive. Harry squealed as Noah picked him up by his sides and held him in the air. "Okay, little Harry, I know you have some secret knowledge of these jelly beans that you're not telling me about."

"You have no proof, Noah." Harry said with a sly grin. He wiggled his fingers. "Maybe I am just full of magicness, like you."

"You better tell me before I..." Noah paused for dramatic effect. "Tickle you!"

"No!" Harry laughed as he fought to get out of Noah's grip. But he wasn't fast enough. He was placed in Noah's lap and promptly tickled until he was a giggling, wiggling mess. Tears streamed down his face and his sides hurt from all the laughing. "N-Noah! St-stop!" Harry forced out through his loud laughter. "I'll t-tell you! I will!"

Victorious, Noah stopped his tickling attack. He captured Harry's little hands and held them hostage until the toddler told him what he wanted to know. "Well, one time me and my bestest friend Ron ate a whole lots of jellybeans and made a list. I used my brain to remember all of them. And now I can tell the icky ones from the yummy ones!" Harry freed one of his hands and picked out an innocent looking pink jelly bean. "Like I know 'dis one is rotten fish." An evil look entered his huge eyes. "And I think that Reggie should eat a jelly bean."

Noah smirked, ruffling Harry's hair. "You little devil, you. How can I help?"

"Just put me in Reggie's lap."

He held up his arms to be picked up. Noah handled him carefully and turned around in his seat. He deposited Harry in Regulus' lap, who looked surprised. "Hello, Harry."

"Oh, aren't you just the sweetest thing." A well-dressed woman next to Sirius cooed. She reached out a pinched one of his cheeks, reminding him strongly of Aunt Marge. "Is he yours?"

"He's my godson," Regulus said proudly, ignoring Harry's tiny glare.

"Well he's simply precious." She patted Regulus on the knee before turning to the man beside her and striking up conversation.

"I see you made a new friend."

Noah smiled at him and winked. "Yeah, that's Noah. He made my dragon real, see?" he pointed to the sleeping dragons. "He's so cool!"

Regulus was looking at Noah suspiciously, his eyes narrowed. To Noah's credit, he didn't even flinch under the inspecting gaze. Harry waved a hand in front of the man's face, directing his attention back to him. "I got you something, Reggie." Harry could hardly keep the laughter out of his voice. He held out his small hand with the pink jelly bean nestled in the middle.

"Oh, well thank you, Harry." Regulus took the candy and placed it in his mouth. His didn't react at first and Harry frowned, thinking he had been wrong. His fears were dismissed when Regulus' face turned an interesting shade of green. He grabbed Harry and put him on the ground before taking off, holding a hand over his mouth.

Both boy's burst into laughter and high-fived. "Did you see his face?" Noah said through his laughter. "Priceless!"

It was funny until Regulus came back, not looking very amused at all. Harry held out his arms to be picked up by Noah, but was instead placed in Regulus' lap. Harry tried to shrink into himself, his whole body trembling and his eyes watering under the man's furious gaze. "That wasn't very nice, Harry."

Regulus' disapproval felt let someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on him. He could see the fire in Regulus' eyes, hinting at the insanity within. He had to fix this fast. Regulus had actually been acting nice today. He didn't want to go back to the Regulus who tortured him and locked him in rooms with boggarts. He hid his face in Regulus' chest and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Reggie." He sniffled.

Regulus sighed and placed a hand in his hair. Harry flinched, expecting pain. A kiss was pressed to the top of his head instead. "I'm not mad. I know it was just a joke. It's okay."

Harry looked up at him, wiping at his face. Regulus was giving him a gentle smile. "Now smile, Harry, the game is about to start."

"Really?" Harry turned around to see that it was true. The teams were on the Quidditch pitch. Harry hurriedly scrambled out of Regulus lap and Noah took him. He was placed on the ground and ran up to the barrier. Unfortunately, he was too short to see over it, no matter how hard he tried. He tugged on Noah's pant leg, trying to get his attention. "Noah, I can't see!"

Noah grabbed him and placed his feet on the railing so that the only thing stopping him from falling into the crowd below was Noah's arms. Harry could care less, given that the players had taken off and were now flying around the pitch.

The teen turned his head when he felt a presence behind him to see Regulus there, glaring again. "If you drop my godson," he warned. "I will have your head. Understand?"

Noah nodded hurriedly, tightening his grip on Harry. Regulus took a spot next to them to watch the game and his godson.

"And the players are off!" shouted the announcer. "Scotland with the Quaffle, Wilson streaking down the field, Ross hot on his tail!"

It was an incredible game. The Scotland team was relentless and weren't afraid of being rather violent to get the Quaffle from the other team. The game had to be paused twenty minutes in to get a fallen Highland Harpy off the pitch from where they were passed out in the dirt.

And their brooms were so fast! Most of the time the only thing that was visible was green and blue blurs. Harry focused more on the seekers, who floated higher above the pitch, searching for the snitch. Harry easily spotted it hovering near Scotland's goal post. The seekers, however, remained oblivious. Harry wanted to point it out but knew they wouldn't hear him. So he resigned himself to watching the blurs go across the field.

By the hour mark, three more chasers were out of commission. The score was 130 to 80, with the Highland Harpies in the lead. While the Dragons were harsh and brutal, the Harpies were very skillful and swift, dodging the attacks.

While the Harpies scored yet another goal and the crowd cheered, both seekers had located the snitch. They launched themselves toward it. "The seekers have seen the snitch! They're neck in neck! It's anyone's game now!"

It took Harry awhile to notice that the seekers were barreling right towards them, the snitch just in front of their out stretched hands. The sunlight hit the little golden ball making it glitter and shine. Harry felt his hand reach out of its own accord towards it. He knew he shouldn't do it, that it would possibly mess up the game. But his four year old brain didn't care very much, and before he knew it his hand was closing around cold metal. The wings fell limp on either side of his closed fist.

The seekers pulled up quickly, shock on their faces. On the screen at each end of the field was his equally as shocked face. The crowd was dead silent and so was the announcer. All activity on the field had stopped.

The shock soon turned to anger. A loud chorus of boos started up and the seekers were glaring at him. Tears sprung to Harry's eyes. He hid his face in Noah's chest, trying to get away from all the hate filled looks. He hadn't meant to catch the snitch. It had just sort of happened. He had no control over his young mind. It wasn't his fault.

"Hey, you lot, give the kid a break!"

These words came from the announcer, who used his floating platform to go over to the box Harry was sitting in. He floated right up to where Harry was curled into Noah, peeking at the man from behind his hand fearfully. The snitch was clutched tight in his small fist.

"Hey there, little tyke." said Rory McBride, famous Quidditch announcer. "That was an impressive catch. You did something not even professional seekers could do!" The seekers in question glared at the man.

Still pressed against Noah, Harry shakily held out the hand with the snitch in it. "I'm sorry…" he whispered, feeling ashamed of himself for not being able to control his younger side. He had screwed up the game.

Rory laughed at this, shaking his head. "No, no, little one, that's yours now. You caught it fair and square. Nobody's ever done that!" He pointed to the spot next to him. "You want to join me? We'll release a new snitch and the game will go on, okay? No big deal."

"Really?" Harry asked cautiously, still unsure. The man was being so nice even though he had practically ruined the game. He supposed him being four didn't hurt matters, though.

"Of course! Get up here and give us a smile! It's not your fault the seekers were so slow!"

Harry looked to Regulus for permission. The man smiled at him, picking him up and handing to Rory. He followed soon after, standing next to Harry and holding his hand. "Can Noah come too?"

Before the announcer even said yes, Noah was hopping over the barrier and onto the platform. A middle age man with Noah's blue eyes and nicely styled hair stood up, looking disapprovingly at his son. "Noah, get back here this instant! That isn't safe!"

"Sorry, dad, I can't hear you!" Noah shouted. He motioned for Rory to move the platform away before his father could jump on it. With a smirk, Rory did just that. They were halfway across the field in a matter of seconds. Rory released a second snitch and the game continued as if it had never been stopped. As it went on, a few players would fly by and give Harry a quick high five before zooming off.

Harry was having the time of his life. Never before had he been so close to a Quidditch match when he wasn't playing. The players were right next to them and the force of their speed blew his hair back.

It didn't last all that much longer. The seekers, mad at being shown up by a four year old, had pulled out all the stops. After a concussion, one broken leg, and a nasty landing, the Highland Harpies won the game. A cheer went out through the crowd.

The platform landed on the ground so they could get off. The team approached Harry with a signed Quaffle and placed it in his hands. As he looked down on it, he imagined how jealous Ron would be. This was the best day ever!

He was hoisted on the teams' shoulders and paraded around the field like a sort of hero. For that moment, he didn't care that he was four years old or that he was in the custody of Regulus Black. He wasn't thinking about Sirius, the Order, or anything like that. Because all that mattered right then was the cheering on the crowd, the Quaffle he was hugging to his chest and the Snitch in his pocket.

Eventually he had to be put down and they left the stadium. Noah tried to follow them, managing to make it halfway to the car pickup before his father caught up to them. "Noah Walker, you are in so much trouble!" Mr. Walker yelled, stalking over to them. Noah cringed.

Forming a plan, Harry let go of Regulus' hand and went up to the fuming man. He looked up at him with wide, pleading green eyes and gave a little pout. The anger on the man's face flickered a bit. "Can Noah pretty please go get ice cream with me and Reggie? He's my friend and really nice and stuff. I don't have a whole buncha friends."

Mr. Walker glanced from him to Regulus to Noah, and back again. Calmly, Regulus approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. It was only there for a second, but Harry could see the tell-tale sign of magic spark from Regulus' fingers and into the man. "Listen, Gregory, little Harry here isn't old enough to be in school yet, and I'm very protective of him so I don't trust the daycares. You know what that's like, don't you?" Mr. Walker nodded slowly. "So he doesn't have any friends, really. It would be very nice of you to allow Noah to accompany us out to ice cream and to my house. It could be a sleepover of sorts. I will have him back to you by tomorrow. Does that sound reasonable?"

Wordlessly, Mr. Walker again nodded. Regulus clapped him on the back, grinning. "Excellent! We will see you tomorrow, then."

Noah gave a fist pump into the air as his dad turned and walked away. Regulus placed Harry on his shoulders and walked to where their new car was waiting, Noah in tow.

OoO

"Reggie, my ice cream keeps falling!"

Regulus laughed as his godson struggled to the keep the huge amount of ice cream in the cone from falling over. Harry had been overenthusiastic with the ice cream selection. He asked the woman behind the counter to let him try nearly every ice cream they had. He had settled on three scoops. Mint chocolate chip, double fudge chocolate, and cotton candy. He asked for gummy bears, rainbow sprinkles, Reese's cups, Oreos, a huge mountain of whipped cream, and five cherries all crammed into a waffle cone. It had been ridiculously expensive, but Harry had been so happy that he had paid without hesitation.

Harry's friend Noah, who he still didn't trust fully, had gotten a coffee flavored ice cream in a cup with vanilla on top. He didn't really touch it though, just talked to Harry.

Regulus had let Harry pick out his ice cream and now picked cautiously at a cup that had an odd jumble of colors in it. He tried it since Harry kept asking and it was…interesting. By no means something he would pick for himself, but not horrible like he had thought.

They sat outside the ice cream parlor under at a metal table under an umbrella. Harry was in his lap, struggling to find out how to eat his monstrosity. He had made a right mess of himself. Ice cream was all over his face and stained his clothes. Still he was determined to eat the entire thing before it melted into a puddle on the floor.

"Reggie," Harry whined, reaching for his fortieth napkin. "Stop laughing and help me!"

"If I help you then you have to promise to take a bath when we get home. You're all sticky and will not be walking around the house and putting your dirty hands all over everything."

Harry huffed. "Fine! Just help me!"

Looking around to make sure no muggles were watching them, Regulus took out his wand and tapped it against Harry's ice cream cone. It immediately stopped melting. But just to make sure there would be no more mess, Regulus summoned a cup and put Harry's ice cream in it, cone facing skyward. "No, you messed it up!" Harry complained. Regulus handed him a spoon and he poked moodily at his now cup bound ice cream.

"Don't be ridiculous, it's still ice cream. Just now you won't be wearing it."

Harry pouted at him. He looked to Noah to back up his argument that what Regulus had done was wrong. The teen shrugged. "You have ice cream all over you, Harry. He just wants you to actually eat some of it.

The tiny toddler glared at the both of them. Then he stuck his little hand into the ice cream, turned, and smeared it all over Regulus face.

He was in Noah's arms and telling him to run before Regulus had even realized what had happened. What commenced was a chase around the ice cream shop, Harry giggling madly and blowing raspberry's, Noah jumping over chairs and tables to avoid Regulus' snatching hands, and the 34 year old grinning and trying to grab the little boy in Noah's arms.

They knocked over quite a few tables and annoyed a whole bunch of Muggles, so they were politely asked to leave. Regulus retrieved Harry's ice cream first and gave it to him, pressing a kiss to his ice cream covered forehead. Even though he was annoying at times, Regulus stilled loved his little godson.

Regulus had two more things planned, but decided they would do it tomorrow, since they all needed a good bath and could hardly walk into a store looking like they did. And no amount of magic would get the stickiness off of Harry.

So they returned to the house, Regulus ordering the driver to drop them off a fair distance away from the manor and walking the rest of the way. He made sure that neither Noah nor Harry had any idea where it was located.

When they walked inside, Noah audibly gasped. "This place is awesome!"

Regulus looked around and tried to see it through the eyes of the teen, but couldn't. Sure the house was an amazing piece of architecture, with beautiful stonework and towering columns. He could see that. Yet, there were too many bad memories here to appreciate all that. Memories of father's punishments and mother's harsh words. Memories of sitting up in his room and waiting desperately, hopefully, for a letter from Sirius to come. Him clinging tightly to his brother's back as they soared over the house on a broom, unbeknownst to mother and father. Thinking for one moment, that maybe Sirius had not forgotten about him, only to discover that it had been a false hope.

He pushed these thoughts away. They didn't matter anymore. He had gotten his revenge on Sirius. He had taken Harry. Now his brother was out desperately searching for him, heartbroken and worried, while Regulus was have one of the greatest days of his life with his godson. It was perfect, and old memories of this house could not diminish his happiness.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't realized he had been dragged along until they arrived in the bathroom. Both Harry and Noah stripped down to their boxers and did cannon balls into the pool. Regulus stood near the edge, watching as Harry turned nearly every single tap available and bubbles rose up. He used these bubbles to make weird beard faces and put them in Noah's hair.

When Harry noticed that Regulus was not in the pool with them, he motioned for the man to come in.

Regulus shook his head. "No thank you, Harry, I am fine out here."

And as he expected, Harry broke out his now signature pout face. "Please, Reggie? It'll be fun!"

With a sigh, Regulus took off his robe and his very expensive shirt. With a running leap, he landed in the pool. He could deny Harry of nothing.

After both of them had been splashed nearly a hundred times by Harry, Regulus and Noah took up a game of Harry toss. Harry screamed as he soared through the air, only to be caught by Regulus who gave him an evil grin before tossing him back. While the game was fun for the two of them, Harry didn't like it very much at all. The second he was released he swam over to the edge of the pool and got out. He started to walk away, hugging himself.

Regulus climbed out of the bath as well. He hurried over and scooped the boy into his arms, hugging him to his chest. Harry scowled at him. "I'm sorry, Harry. I promise we won't do that anymore. Just come back and swim with us. I promise if you do we can have smores later."

"Smores?" Harry asked questioningly, hope filling his huge eyes. "I thought smores are muggle foods."

"Please, wizards were the ones to invent smores. Muggles are lucky we even gave them the idea." 

"Well," Harry thought for a moment. Then he grinned up at Regulus. "I want three smores." He said, holding up three fingers.

Regulus chuckled. "You can have all the smores you want." He put Harry down and pointed at the bath. "Now get your little tush back in the bath. You're still not clean."

The bath continued. Regulus felt like a little kid again. He was playing with action figures and having swimming races. He got in splash fights and had a competition to see how long someone could hold their breath (Noah won, he lasted for ages underwater). They only got out when they started to get pruney. Regulus summoned some clothes for Noah and told Harry to get changed for dinner in his room. As the two boys ran off, Regulus wasn't worried about Harry telling Noah who he really was. After the incident with the baker, Harry knew that everybody would see his confession as the ramblings of a toddler.

Mitzi looked startled when he walked into the kitchen shirtless with a big smile on his face. "Mitzi, do we have the ingredients for smores? I promised Harry I would make him and his friend some."

Mitzi stared at him curiously. "Mitzi can send someone to get them, Master Regulus." She ordered one of the other House Elves to do so. "Master Regulus seems very happy today. Did all go well with Harry Potter?"

Hopping up on the kitchen counter, Regulus grinned down at the elf. "Mitzi, it was amazing! We had such a good time. And Harry let me hold him and talk to him and play with him. I know it will probably go back to normal by tomorrow, but this day has just been so brilliant that I can't even care."

The elf beamed up at him. "Mitzi is glad to hear that Master Regulus is happy. It has been so long."

"I know, Mitzi, but Harry has changed all that. I'm happy again and that's all that matters. Hopefully one day Harry will be able to fully accept me as his godfather. I know his younger mind is a good part of the reason he acted the way he did today." He slid off the counter and headed towards the door. "Please make sure dinner is ready. And Harry has a friend over, so add another plate."

"A friend, Master Regulus? Aren't you worried that…"

Regulus cut her off before she could say anymore. "No, Mitzi, I am not worried. I am glad Harry has made a friend. It will give him someone to talk to other then myself. I don't want him to feel trapped here. Having Noah present will help that."

Mitzi nodded, her ears flopping against her head. "Of course, Master Regulus, Mitzi understands now. We will make dinner immediately."

OoO

"Noah, why your daddy so protective of you?" Harry asked, looking up from his dinner. That night they were having roast chicken. Harry had been having difficulty with his knife, so Regulus had cut the chicken into little pieces for him. He was thankful because it made eating a lot easier.

Noah played with the food on his plate, not making eye contact with the boy. "I don't know what you mean."

"Actually," said Regulus. "I've been wondering about that too. When I was talking to your father earlier he said that you didn't have many friends either because he doesn't really like you to go out of the house. The Quidditch match was a very rare thing for you two to do together. Why is that?"

Noah sighed, realizing he had been cornered. "Okay fine, he is a bit overprotective. It's just, I had this accident a year or two ago. We were in Knockturn alley because my father does raids and he couldn't identify a certain dark magical object he had found. He had hoped the man at Borgin and Burkes would be able to assist him." He paused, pushing around the corn on his plate. "When he was distracted I sort of ran off further into the alley. And something bad happened to me. I was hurt. When my mother found out what happened she was mad at my father and hated me, so she left. Ever since then my dad has been sure to watch me closely and doesn't really take me anywhere anymore."

Harry was about to ask what happened, but Regulus shushed him, sensing that the boy really didn't want to talk about it. Noah switched to a much more light hearted conversation and dinner continued on like it had never happened.

Harry learned that Noah attended Durmstrang, but visited here every summer and on breaks to stay with his dad. He told them both a whole bunch of stories about Durmstrang and his friends there. They talked and talked and talked until long after their food was done.

After dinner, just as Regulus promised, they had smores. Harry was careful this time, because he really didn't want to take a bath again. He made a disgusted face as Regulus burned his marshmallow until it was pitch black and practically falling off the stick. He much preferred his soft and golden brown. Also like Harry had said, he had three smores and was fully stuffed after that. Regulus had to carry him to his next surprise.

You could say that Harry was rightly shocked when Regulus took him into a new room and saw that there was a television inside. When he asked Regulus why he had one, the man rolled his eyes. "Harry, I was living alone for years in this house. If I didn't have TV, I would have died."

After trying to explain to Noah exactly what a TV was and that no, there weren't little people trapped inside the box, they all cuddled together on the couch watching House until Harry let out a little yawn and Regulus ordered him to bed.

A makeshift bed was set up for Noah, who promptly fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

But Harry, no matter how tired he was, found difficulties doing the same. His head was filled with so many thoughts and they just wouldn't shut up. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Harry had had an awesome time. The Quidditch Match, the ice cream, the everything. It had all been so much fun. Regulus had actually been sane, and it turned out he liked Regulus when he was sane. He wasn't much different from Sirius when he was. It was easy to hate the man when he was torturing him and saying horrible things about Sirius. But when the man was buying him ice cream and making bubble beards in the pool, he couldn't find it in him. Would it all go back to the way it was before when he woke up? As soon as Noah left would he be locked in a room or a million other bad things until he said Regulus was his godfather? Today Regulus had seemed like a completely different person than before. He had been nice, fun, and happy.

He stilled wanted to be back with Sirius, of course, but then what about Regulus? Today had shown him that he had a good side, though most of the time it was buried under mountains of crazy. Maybe he could be saved?

"And why are you still awake, little one?"

Harry nearly fell out of the bed in fright until he realized that it was just Cepheus sitting at the end of his bed. He sat up and looked at the ghost. Maybe Cepheus could help him sort out his thoughts. "It's about Reggie. I thought that he was always all wacko and crazy and stuff. But today he was really fun and we got ice cream with Noah and played in the pool and ate smores! It wasn't the same Reggie who hurt me and was a meanie."

"Well, Harry, I'm that you know by now that Regulus isn't really all there." Harry nodded. "Well, he has these periods where he is really nice and kind, like you saw him today. When he is happy. And then there are the other times where he is angry and destructive. When his insanity takes over. This happens when he is stressed or sad or aggravated. Before today you were rebellious and called him crazy. It made him angry which in turn made him the way he was. He's not totally in control of that side of him. But today you went with him, you talked to him. You made him so happy." Cepheus pointed to himself. "I knew first-hand the real Regulus Black. The one who treated me like I was the single best thing in the world. The way he did with you today. The Regulus you have seen before isn't him. That is all his loneliness, his hatred for his brother, and the want for someone to need him."

Cepheus gestured to the black dog Harry was clutching to his chest and the lion pedant that still hung from his neck because Regulus had been unable to remove it. "That little House Elf Mitzi has been trying to get the Black brothers back together for ages. Needless to say she has failed. Maybe you will be the one to accomplish it. Don't be so quick to judge Regulus when you do not know him or everything that has happened to him. Try to learn about him, Harry, and see him then. I do not condone his actions, but I do understand them."

Harry contemplated Cepheus' words and knew them to be true. He knew very little about what had happened to Regulus'. Only the basics. Maybe he should talk to the man. Learn more about him. Try to see through his eyes. Fighting the man wasn't getting him anywhere. Maybe if he was nice to Regulus then he could mend the bond between brothers. He could be back with Sirius and Regulus wouldn't be forced to suffer. "Okay, Cephie, I will try. But I'm sorta scared of him too. I don't want him to hurt me and go back to his meanness."

"You have every right to be scared of him. He has been cruel to you. But now you know what he can really be like. Only you will be able to help him, Harry." Cepheus looked away for a moment. "I also came here to apologize for abandoning you yesterday. It was not right of me to leave you there while the Dark Lord attacked your mind. It's just that his dark presence was so strong…" the ghost closed his eyes and fisted his hands. "I am sorry. I panicked and I should have been there to try and help."

"No, Cephie, it's okay. I forgive you. Voldy is what I have to face. Not you."

The boy did not look convinced. "But you are so young…"

"So are you."

Cepheus faltered at this statement. He looked down at himself. At his child body. He seemed at lost for words. He shook his head quickly. "I think you should get some sleep, Harry."

He was gone before Harry could stop him. He heaved a sigh and burrowed into the bed. Cepheus was right. He needed to go to sleep.

He sat up in bed one nightmare later, breathing hard and shivering. Silent tears made their way down his face. Without a second thought, Harry grabbed his stuffed animal. He went over to Noah and shook him awake and told him where he was going. Noah gave a mumbled reply.

Dragging a blanket behind him, Harry left the room. He stood in the hallway, unsure of which direction to take. "Mitzi…" he called out quietly. The House Elf appeared with a pop, looking at him worriedly. "Can you take me to Regulus' room?"

"Of course," She took his hand and led him to where he wanted to go. "Is Harry Potter okay?"

"I'm fine," Harry lied, not looking at the little elf.

It took about minutes to reach their destination. Harry thanked the elf and entered the room. It was big. Harry couldn't tell much else because it was so dark. Going to the bed, Harry climbed onto and slipped under the covers. He cuddled up to Regulus side, taking comfort in the warmth and security that he felt.

Harry fell asleep quickly. Regulus opened his eyes and smiled sadly down at his godson. Another nightmare. He wished he could stop them, but no dreamless sleep potion could keep out the Dark Lord. He wrapped his arms around the boy and held Harry to his chest, protecting him. "I've got you…" he whispered.

They were both yanked from their sleeps by a loud piercing scream that shattered the quiet night and echoed through the house.

**Okay so yeah, really long chapter. Twenty pages! Enjoy!**

**Let me know what you think of Noah and the rest of the chapter:) I love this story and I'm not going to stop writing it, so stop your worrying.**

**Remember, any suggestions or questions, just put it in a review or a private message and send it my way.**

**Also, I've decided to take my writing out of the world of Fanfiction and start working on a book. So I have a favor to ask. If any of my readers or Gay, Lesbian, or Transgender and you have a story you want to tell (it can be happy, sad or anything you want) and are willing to share with me I would appreciate it if you would tell me, as that is what the book it about. You don't have to be mentioned in it if you don't want to. It's going to be a book of short stories, so I'm mainly looking for ideas. So even if your straight and you have an idea for a short story involving something LGBT, let me know. And please Private message me with these, as I don't want that in reviews where anyone could see it, and I'd like to keep the two separate.**

**And two more things. 1. Please, please review. It inspires me to write and makes me feel good about what I have written. If nobody reviews, I think I've done a horrible job and feel bad. **

**2. Have you guys been on Esty . com? It's freakin brilliant! There is so much awesome Harry Potter stuff on there. I have a whole list of stuff I want. Check it out if you haven't already:)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, sorry about the confusion. Fanfiction . net was being all weird and wouldn't let me update. Anyway, here it is. Sorta short, but I will be updating again soon, so don't fret :D**

Regulus ordered Harry to stay behind him as he proceeded cautiously in the direction of the sound, his wand out in front of him. The screams hadn't stopped. Following the loud noise, Regulus found himself pushing open the front door and stepping out into the garden.

Noah, covered in blood, was convulsing violently on the ground, shrieking for the whole world to hear. Standing over him with a wand and muttering under their breath was a robed figure.

Regulus quickly shot a spell at the person, knocking them away from the teen. He moved forward, preparing for a fight. Harry fell to Noah's side, looking over him worriedly with shaking hands, succeeding in coating his palms with blood.

The figure was back on their feet in seconds, sending spells at lightning speed at Regulus. Both duelers were of equal talent, so neither was gaining on the other. The figure would shoot a spell at Regulus, who would whip up a shield faster than you could blink. But, unfortunately, the person had an advantage. With Regulus' injured shoulder, he was starting to slow down. One good hit was all it took for Regulus to go flying. He crashed into the side of the house and dropped to ground, clutching his side.

The figure stalked over to where Harry was crouched, trying desperately to wake up Noah who hadn't moved a finger. He felt a hand wrap around his arm before he was forcibly yanked to his feet and dragged after the person. He struggled and kicked with all his might, but was not strong enough to break free of the vice like grip. He was quickly being pulled out of the garden and towards the forest surrounding Regulus' home. "Reggie!" He cried, trying to stop their movements by digging his heels into the dirt. "Reggie, help me!"

Spurred by Harry's cries, Regulus forced himself to stand and point his wand threateningly at the retreating figure. "Don't move another inch." He hissed, slowly stalking forward. "Let go of my godson."

Harry was spun around and his back was forced against the person's chest. A hand was wrapped around his throat, cutting off his air supply, and another was placed over his mouth, silencing his string of pleas and screams. When he couldn't draw in breath, he panicked and did the only thing he could think of. He bit down hard on the fingers covering his mouth.

He was shoved away as the figure cursed. "You little bastard!" said a woman's voice from underneath the hood. Before he could process that information, he was backhanded across the face. He collapsed to the ground, whimpering and clutching at his bleeding cheek. He looked up to see a wand in his face. "Crucio!"

Harry screamed, tears falling from his eyes as the pain attacked viciously. It felt like he had been forced in boiling lava. He dug his fingers into the soil, arching his back to lessen the agony. He called out pleadingly to Regulus, begging him to make the pain stop.

He heard a thud and it ended. He curled into a ball, sobbing at the after effects of the curse. He turned his head slightly to see Regulus standing over the person, whose hood had fallen off revealing the face of a blue eyed, black haired woman with blood red lips and a steely gaze. The insanity had creeped back into Regulus' eyes as he glared down at the woman, his fingers tight around his wand. "How _dare _you hurt my godson." He growled, grabbing a handful of the woman's robe and lifting her to her feet.

"You wouldn't punch a girl, would you?" she asked coltishly, batting her eyes at him while an evil smirk took residence on her face.

Regulus brought his fist down on the woman's face, knocking her back down onto the grass with a sickening crack. "Don't test me."

She clutched at her jaw, scowling at him and moving to get her wand. He stopped her with a kick to her side and a curse that made her start choking herself. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she turned a shade of dark purple. One look at Regulus' face proved that he was going to kill her and would feel absolutely no remorse about it.

Harry couldn't let Regulus kill someone, no matter what they had done. "Reggie…" he cried. "Reggie, it hurts."

Regulus looked over at Harry, the darkness slowly leaving his gaze. He removed the curse from the lady and cast a spell that knocked her unconscious and trapped her in ropes.

In seconds he was at Harry's side, pulling the boy into his arms and gently rocking him. He placed tiny kisses to Harry's head, running gentle fingers through his hair. Harry's tears stained his shirt. "N-Noah is hurt." He choked out, pointing to where Noah had begun to stir.

Regulus walked over to the teen still holding Harry. His eyes drifted from the boy who had just sat up to a dead, bloody, slashed open horse a few feet away. It was one of his riding horses. He hadn't noticed that at first. He quickly checked over Noah and deemed that while he was shaken, he was not hurt. The blood wasn't even his own. It belonged to the horse. He asked what had happened and what he was doing outside at this time of night.

"I…I just needed some fresh air. W-when I came outside the horse had gotten loose…so…so I tried to put it back in the stables. But then s-she appeared and cast this curse that totally…s-slaughtered the horse. I got c-covered in blood…and it got… in my mouth…on accident…"he licked his lips, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering. Regulus summoned a blanket for him.

A glance over his shoulder showed that the woman was still knocked out. She was going to pay. She had hurt his godson. Caused him pain. She was going to die in the most horrible way possible for putting Harry under the torture curse. Regulus shook his head. He would tend to that later. Right now he had to make sure that Harry and his friend were okay.

He lifted his godson's face so he could look into those watery green eyes. He wiped the tears away with his thumb while he checked over Harry's injuries. A deep cut marred his cheek, blood slowly oozing out of it. Dark circle shaped bruises wrapped around Harry's neck from where the woman's fingers had choked him. From under the sleeve of his pajama shirt, tiny crescent shaped marks were visible, caused by the woman's long nails cutting into his skin. Regulus nearly lost it again, but forced himself to remain calm.

He led the two boys to the front door. "Find Mitzi and she will tend to your injuries. Then get her to help you take Noah's bed into my room. Nobody will be sleeping alone tonight. Watch a little tv and then go to bed, okay?"

They nodded.

"I'm sorry, Reggie." Harry sniffled, eyes downcast. "This is my fault. She want me, not nobody else. I got Noah and you hurt."

Regulus got down on his knees so he was level with Harry and took the boy's hand into his own. "This is not your fault, Harry." He reassured. "She wanted to hurt you. That is her fault, not yours. I'm willing to get hurt to protect you, so don't concern yourself with my safety. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Reggie." Harry wiped the tears from his eyes and allowed himself to be pulled into one last hug. Regulus ushered them into the house and shut the door behind the two boys, wishing them a good night's sleep.

Once they were safely inside, Regulus stormed over to the body in the grass. A quick spell had her awake and gasping for air, struggling at her bonds. He bent down, grabbed her thick hair in his hands, and dragged her across the ground. She kicked and struggled, calling him every foul name in the book. He paid little attention to her ranting. There was nothing running through his mind except revenge. His poor little godson had been hurt.

Whoever this woman was, she was going to die.

OoO

Curled up in Noah's lap and watching cartoons, Harry began to worry. Noah hadn't said anything yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time before Noah asked the questions he was dreading. Surely any moment now he would interrogate him about why someone was after him. Why they were willing to kill and torture to get him.

A glass of milk, a quick shower, and a few minutes of calm was all it took to cure Noah of his shock. While it was clear he was still a little shaken, Noah was back to acting like his normal self. With a clear mind, the older boy could easily begin to wonder why someone had attacked Regulus and tried to take Harry. It only made sense.

Harry felt the fear fill him again. If Noah found out…well, there was no doubt in Harry's mind that Regulus would kill the teen. Or torture him till he forgot. Noah realizing the truth would surely set Regulus over the edge again, back into his mind and the madness that lay in wake.

The makeup covering his scar still held and the eye sight fixing spell had yet to wear off, but after that whole encounter even a simpleton would be able to piece together the information and come to some sort of conclusion.

Feeling the tears building up, he looked up at Noah's face. He didn't want his friend to be killed. If he was to be forced to stay with Regulus, he needed Noah just to get through. He needed a break from the man who had been over his shoulder since day one. Noah was nice and funny. He meant well, and was the first friend he had ever made as just Harry. Not as Harry Potter.

Even Ron and Hermione had known he was famous from the very first second. All his other friends at Hogwarts knew too. But Noah didn't. Noah was his friend purely because he liked Harry and wanted to be around him. It made Harry really happy and made him feel special. More special than any scar could.

But Regulus was going to kill him. The second the gears clicked into place, Noah would know. He would confront Harry, angry that he had been lied to. And Harry would try to defend himself, try to explain, but it would be too late. Regulus would find out and dispose of Noah to keep Harry a secret from the rest of the world. He would go back to crazy Regulus, and hurt him until he finally cracked or went insane like the man who wanted so badly to be his godfather.

They would be one big, happy crazy family.

Noah must have noticed that he was close to crying, because not seconds later he was being pulled into a strong hug. Harry wrapped his arms around Noah's neck, hiding his face in the teen's shoulder and let himself fall into full out sobbing.

"It's okay, little guy." Noah said softly, patting Harry's back. "I know those Death Eaters can be scary. But they're not going to hurt you anymore, okay? Not if I can help it."

"But they hurt you, Noah." Harry sniffled, talking into Noah's pajama shirt. "You got put under the bad curse cuz of me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Noah gently pulled Harry's face away from his shoulder so that the little boy had to look him in the eye. "This is _not _your fault, Harry. Look at me." He held open his arms, gesturing to himself. "I'm fine! No harm done!" He ruffled Harry's hair. "Don't beat yourself up about it. Just because Voldy Moldy's got his panties in a bunch doesn't mean he should take it out on all of us regular folk. Why, me and my dad's place just trashed up just a few days ago by some of those gits."

Harry laughed at Noah's nickname for Voldemort, wiping away the tears that had sullied his cheeks. Noah grinned at him. "It's good to see you laughing again. Don't let those Death Eaters get you down and don't you worry your pretty little head about me. I've dealt with far worse than them."

Tilting his head to the side curiously, Harry asked what Noah meant by that. His words were waved away. "That's a story for another time. Maybe when you're a bit older."

Harry crossed his arms and huffed, shooting a glare at the TV. He was fourteen, for Merlin's sake! He hated being treated like he was a little kid, no matter how much he looked like one.

His frown was quickly erased when Noah did a sneak tickle attack, turning him into giggling, squirming mess. "No more frowning!" Noah said, raising his voice so he could be heard over Harry's excessive laughing.

Despite Harry's begging, the blonde only let up when he realized what time it was, and decided they should both go to bed. He grabbed Harry by his ankles and carried him to the room with his hair brushing the floor, slightly swinging the small boy and receiving little screams and giggles.

In Regulus' room, Noah plopped down on his bed and was jumped on by an overexcited Harry, who attempted to extract his revenge. Needless to say, he was unsuccessful. It took very little effort to pin the toddler to his chest by his arms. Harry stuck his tongue out.

"Come on, Harry, it's time to go to bed."

"But I'm not tired!" Harry whined, betraying this statement by letting out a little yawn.

"Shush, you." He placed a hand in Harry's hair and gently stroked it. The boy melted under the touches and snuggled into his chest, lightly gripping Noah's shirt in his hands. He was out like a light in a matter of seconds. Noah kept softly running his fingers through those raven locks while silently observing the sleeping four year old.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that Harry wasn't telling him the whole truth. While he had played it off, that attack had really shaken him. But at the same time, he was thankful. It had prevented the two of them from figuring out the real reason he had snuck out in the middle of the night. He couldn't be mad at Harry for keeping secrets. He had a huge secret of his own that, if it was up to him, Harry would never learn.

While the boy had a good heart from what he could tell, Noah knew Harry would never look at him the same if he discovered the truth. Anyone would turn their backs on him. So he kept it a secret. Only he, his dad, and his mom knew. If Harry somehow found out…he dismissed that thought from his mind. It wouldn't happen. He wouldn't lose the first friend he'd had in a long time.

At his school, his condition was well known, so people avoided him. A few talked to him out of pity, but that was it. They judged him. Harry didn't know. Harry couldn't judge. It didn't matter that he was only four. Harry was the nicest person he had met in a long time.

As long as Harry didn't pry into his life, Noah would do the same. That Regulus character though…he sort of spooked him. He had seen the look in the man's eyes right after the jelly bean prank. And he had noticed how terrified Harry had seemed. Like he was scared that Regulus was going to hurt him.

That thought made him want to punch something. Harry was so nice and sweet. How could anyone even think of hurting such a wonderful little kid? If Regulus was abusing Harry, Noah would make him pay. Though he had only known him for a handful of hours, he swore that he would protect Harry, no matter what. He was more than capable. He would be on the lookout from now on. If he saw even one little bruise mar Harry's adorable face, Regulus was dead.

With this confirmed in his mind, he finally let his eyes close and drifted off it sleep and the same moment that Sirius Black received the shock of his life.

OoO

The eldest Black brother was walking slowly through one of the oldest Black Family houses, worry filling every inch of his heart and despair etched in the lines of his face. This was the third house he had checked. The third! And there was still no sign of his godson or his brother. Nothing.

He was far from giving up, but that didn't stop his mind from shooting off in a million horrible directions. His brother was far from sane. At least from what he had seen. What if he was hurting Harry? What if he couldn't find them because Harry was…dead?

He trudged on, opening every door and searching every room, top to bottom, even though he knew it was hopeless. He hadn't slept in days, and eating was far from his list of concerns. Even when his stomach rumbled and the pain became so great he couldn't move, he continued his search. If he paused even for a second, Regulus could move Harry or torture him or kill him.

Sirius needed his godson to be back with him, safe and loved. After his childhood with the Dursleys, Harry craved acceptance and affection, something Sirius was more than happy to provide. Years in Azkaban had, if anything, only heightened his desire to be with Harry again. To have a son that he could take care of. To raise Harry and make James proud.

While Remus had tried to sooth him, it had been for naught. Not even Remus' calming words or caring touches could quell the beast inside him that demanded his brother's head on a plate. The only time he had wanted to hurt someone this badly before was with Peter Pettigrew. It was a fiery, passionate, burning, hate filled rage only reserved for those who hurt his godson. The only people he cared about in the world now were Remus and Harry.

If it had been up to him, the three of them would have already been living in their own house by now. Harry would be nowhere near the war if he had a say. Harry was only fourteen. Much too young to be forced into the war hero position. Sirius' childhood had been destroyed by politics and war. He didn't want the same for Harry. Dumbledore was filling Harry's head with loads of nonsense. He didn't care what the old man thought. Harry was way too young to be their savior.

At fourteen Harry should be flirting, hanging out with friends, and just plain goofing off. Not saving the Wizarding World. Sirius would take Harry's place in a heartbeat if Dumbledore would let him.

He checked the whole house three times over, hoping beyond hope that he would find Harry tucked away somewhere, unharmed and willing to come back to him. Of course, he found nothing but bad memories. The hunger and exhaustion finally caught up to him and he collapsed to the floor.

Fumbling for his necklace, he opened it and gazed down at the picture inside. It was the most recent picture of him and Harry. Unbeknownst to Dumbledore, the two of them had snuck out late at night and snuck down to the nearest wizard bar. While Harry had been hesitant at first, his muggle upbringing warning him about the dangerous of alcohol, Sirius had finally managed to convince the boy to try it. After one sip, it escalated quickly. In the picture, Sirius had poured a whole cup of butter beer of Harry's head, laughing drunkenly at Harry's surprised face.

It was moments like that which were perfect. Anytime he got to spend with his godson was precious to him. He loved Harry, James' son, and would give his life to make sure he was protected.

He closed his eyes, but a single tear still managed to squeeze out and make a trail down his face. His free hand formed into a fist while the other clutched desperately to the locket around his neck.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a clear hand land on his shoulder. A chill went down his spine. In a flash he had spun around, wand out, only to come face to face with the very last person he expected to see. His wand arm fell uselessly to his side.

"Cepheus?"

**Yeah, this chapter isn't much, but I just really wanted to update. I will be posting chapter 9 either tomorrow night or on Saturday, I promise. If I don't, you can yell at me till your faces turn purple :D**

**Leave any suggestions or comments you have in the review. Let me know what you think of Noah and any theories you have!**

**I'll see you guys in one or two days!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, I know I said I was going to update about a week ago, but my computer decided to be an ass and not wrong. Turns out, the reason my internet wasn't working was because my brother accidently hit a tiny switch on the side, causing it to disconnect . Took me forever to figure it out.**

**Anyway, since I know last chapter there were technical difficulties, if you DID NOT read and review chapter 8, please do so before reading this one. This is Chapter 9.**

**Thanks, and happy reading! Don't forget to review and leave suggestions and thoughts.**

When Regulus threw the woman into the cell and stepped inside, locking the door behind him, he expected her to cry, beg, or yell at him. He did not expect her to laugh. And it wasn't a normal laugh, either. It was one of someone whose mind had cracked long ago. A loud, drawn out cackling that sent shivers down your spine.

She got to her feet and sauntered over to him with a sort of drunkish gait. Ignoring the wand he had pointed at her, she took his face into her hands and squeezed his cheeks roughly, grinning like a loon. Regulus was much too shocked by her behavior to push her away.

"Look at you, little Reggie. You're a big boy now!" The woman chuckled, staring deep into his eyes. As she surveyed him, her smile grew wider, nearly taking up her whole face. "You're a little crazy, aren't you, Reggie?" she cooed, stroking the side of his face. "Just like dear Uncle Orion and just like me. They say it runs in the family. It was only a matter of time before you fell victim to the alluring call."

Growling, he shoved her so hard that she fell to the ground, landing painfully on her side. Her smile did not falter. She sat up and leaned back on her arms, staring him down. "Who are you?" he questioned harshly, moving till he was standing over her, his wand hand steady.

"I remember back to when you were this big, Reggie." She held her hand a little ways off the ground. "Running around with Sirius and getting into all sorts of trouble." She sighed wistfully, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "You were so much fun to tease. Especially after Sirius abandoned you. He was so mean, leaving you like that."

With a flick of his wand, she crashed into the wall, knocking her hand pretty viciously against the stone. "Crucio!"

Under the curse, she did scream, but that horrid laughter started up again. He ended the curse almost immediately, more than a little creeped out. "Who are you?" he yelled at the woman, his patience wearing thin. She was talking about his family as if she was part of it. But he didn't recognize her at all. Regardless of if she was or not, she was still going to die for even daring to think she could hurt his godson.

She gave a little pout. "But you wouldn't recognize me, not in this disguise." Suddenly, she gave a fierce twitch and keeled over, clutching at her stomach. He stepped back warily as she began shaking. What was going on?

"Oh look, cousin." She forced out in a shaky voice, gripping her hair between her hands. "The potion is wearing off."

Her skin started to bubble and her eyes rolled back into her head. Her black hair started to curl and grow longer. Her skin went pale.

When the transformation was complete, Regulus went numb. His wand slipped from his fingers, clattering uselessly to the ground. He could only stare in shock as the woman unfolded herself from the ground and stood, presenting her real form for the world to see.

Bellatrix Lestrange pranced over to Regulus and pulled him into a viciously tight hug. Her dagger like nails cut deep into his back. "Oh, Reggie, how I've missed you! It's been years!" She pulled back and ran her hand down his face. "You were always my favorite cousin. Siri is just no fun. He won't even give me the time of day. He's way too busy with his poor little godson."

This snapped Regulus back into reality. "Harry is _my _godson."

"But of course," she said, her eyes filled with understanding. "It's always been obvious to me that you would make a much better godfather to little Harry."

"You…you agree with me?"

She nodded, moving her hand to his shoulder and tilting her head to the side. "Siri doesn't understand how to raise a child. He's letting that old fool Dumbledore use the boy as a pawn. You know as well as I do that little Harry won't stand a chance against the Dark Lord. You don't want your godson to be killed, do you?"

He shook his head vehemently, hands curling into fists at the thought. "No. I won't let him be killed."

She was circling him now, her boots making clicking sounds as she walked, watching as the anger swept through his body, making him tense. "Oh but Reggie, my dearest cousin, it is inevitable, really. The Dark Lord wants little Harry dead. You know that the Dark Lord always gets what he wants."

"No." Regulus shook his head again, trying to deny what Bella was saying. But he knew it was true. The Dark Lord was very powerful. If he wanted to kill Harry, then his godson would be killed. He could picture it already. Harry, emerald eyes wide open and lifeless, blood dribbling from his mouth. His small chest would be still, stained red from huge wounds that marred his pale skin. "No…No, not Harry…not him." He mumbled.

She stopped behind him, placing her hands delicately around his arms. "It's not a matter of yes or no, Regulus. Harry will die. Unless…" she paused for a moment and rested her chin on his shoulder. She turned her head slightly to whisper in his ear. "Unless, you returned to the Dark Lord and joined the ranks once again."

Regulus twisted around and shoved her away. He bent down quickly and retrieved his wand, pointing it at Bella, who was now a little miffed. "I'm never going back to the Dark Lord. Never. Following that lunatic cost me everything."

She pouted at him once again, clearly disappointed. "But, Reggie, this isn't about you." She said slowly, as if talking to a small child. "This is about poor little Harry. If you returned with Harry as your godson, the Dark Lord would have no reason to kill him. He would not be a threat anymore. Back amongst the ranks, you and Harry would be safe. He would no longer be a pawn of the Light. Besides," She moved forward once again and ran his finger down Regulus' wand, stopping at his hand. "You were always so powerful. Leave the creature behind. You and Harry belong by the Dark Lord's sides."

"I'm not an imbecile, Bella. The Dark Lord does not forgive traitors like me. If I was idiotic enough to try and join him again, I would be tortured and killed. The same would happen to Harry. The Dark Lord would hurt him horribly." His eyes flashed dangerously. He had Bellatrix pinned to the wall by her neck before he even realized what had happened. She still had that maddening smirk on her face, her long ring adorned fingers not even attempting to pry his away. "Like you hurt him. You tortured my godson." His fingers tightened. "No one is going to take Harry from me ever again. Not the Dark Lord, not Sirius, and definitely not you. I'm not going back to being alone. I will kill anyone who tries to take him from me!"

She chuckled again, a small rumbling sound that started in her chest and escaped through her insane grin. "You're going to kill me, Reggie? What would little Harry think of that?" Her smile widened when Regulus' glare faltered a bit. "You want him to like you. To love you like a Godfather. But he's such a good little boy. Senseless killing doesn't sit very well with him at all. Will Harry want to stay with you when he finds out you're a murdering lunatic?"

"He already knows about the lunatic part. The murdering is something he doesn't need to be informed of. He's much too young. Everything I do is for him. It's all quite justified."

"Maybe he is unaware of the previous ones, but if you kill me now, he will know of this one. He will ask you if you killed the big bad Death Eater who attacked him. You can lie, of course, but he will see right through it. He will never forget that you killed someone, Regulus."

_Damn her for being right. _

"If it isn't I who takes Harry from you, it will be someone else." She added calmly, slipping her fingers in between Regulus'. "It was so easy to find you, Regulus. Even Sirius will be lead here eventually. The Dark Lord will be close behind. He will be ripped away from you, no matter how hard you try and stop it."

He threw her from him, watching as she landed on her arm and slid, scraping it up and leaving little blood splatters on the floor. _Nobody threatens my godson and gets away with it. _"How did you find us?" he yelled, flicking his wand once again and flinging her into the air. She hit the ceiling hard, a snap echoing through the room. Back on the floor, she used one arm to sit up, the other dangling quite uselessly at her side. Still she was smiling, even as streaks of red slunk down her arm, which was jutted out at an awkward angle.

"I followed you, of course. Revealing yourself to Sirius was a big mistake. I was there, keeping an eye on your brother, when lo and behold, you walk through the door. I followed you afterwards. I saw you at the Quidditch game and at the ice cream shop." Her eyes sparkled. "You love him, don't you, Regulus? I've seen how you look at him. It's just like how you used to look at Cepheus, the disgusting little squib."

Something snapped. He was on her in seconds, slamming her skull against the hard stone floor, screaming in her face. "Don't you dare mention Cepheus! You took him away from me too! You…you killed him!" Her nose broke under his fist. He felt the hot tears slipping treacherously from his eyes. He continued hitting her over and over; anywhere he could reach, as if he could beat the idea of taking away his godson out of her head. She couldn't take Harry too. Not Harry. Not his godson. Not again.

"You can't have Harry too. Nobody will hurt him…nobody…"

It took him quite a while to realize that she had fallen unconscious. He finally stopped the pummeling of his fists. His breath came out in heavy pants as he looked down at her smashed face. Her blood covered his knuckles, standing out starkly against the pale skin.

He shakily stood, using his wand to remove the stains and straighten himself out. He pointed it at the still body of his cousin, the killing curse on the tip of his tongue. Harry's face popped into his face before he could, reminding him that killing Bellatrix would possible destroy whatever little progress he had made with his godson. Harry would know if he killed her. He was a smart little boy.

Reluctantly, he turned his wand towards the walls and started casting as many warding spells as he could think of. He had to make it as secure as possible. Bellatrix escaping was not an option. She would run back to her master immediately, revealing their location and putting his godson in danger.

He was sure what he would do with her, but he couldn't be bothered with that at the moment. He had to see Harry and make sure his godson was alright. That he was safe and still with Regulus.

After bringing two grotesque stone statues to life and ordering them to guard the door, Regulus retreated to his own room. He opened the door slowly, taking a peek inside to make sure the boys were really there.

They were. Harry had fallen asleep on Noah's chest, his fists curled into the teen's shirt, drooling a bit and staining the fabric. He was wrapped comfortably in Noah's arms, dead asleep. A jealous fire sprung up in his chest, urging him to rip Harry away from the boy and return to the way they had been before.

The reasonable part of his brain spoke up from its place in the back of his mind. _Let him be, Regulus. He's already asleep. There is no point moving him._

_No, _he thought, taking a step towards the sleeping boys. _I need to hold him. Bella ruined the moment we were having and I want it back._

_He is fine where he is. Waking him up this late will not make him think highly of you. Besides, you're angry. It's best that you are nowhere near Harry. You could hurt him._

That made him hesitate. While he liked to think that hurting Harry was impossible, he knew that when he was angry the madness could be unpredictable. Sometimes it took over and he blacked out, only to wake up somewhere far away, most likely with blood on his hands.

He shook his head firmly. That would not happen here. He would only hurt Harry if it was for punishment, never any other reason.

_I'm taking my godson back._

_But, Regulus…!_

He shoved the annoying voice to the very recesses of his mind, ignoring it. He stopped next to the two and stooped down, sliding his hand under Harry's stomach and attempting to lift the boy up. Noah's grip, however, was tight. It fact, it only tightened the more Regulus attempted to pry the boy away.

For one brief, mad moment he toyed with the idea of breaking the teen's arm. Luckily for Noah, after one more tug, his arms loosened and fell to his side. He shifted, mumbling angrily, and turned onto his side, arms wrapping around his pillow like they had just enveloped Harry.

Harry's eyes opened halfway, looking up at Regulus with a confused half frown. He yawned loudly, his eyes dropping again. His head fell against Regulus' chest and he snuggled close, his eyelashes touching his pale cheeks. "R-Reggie…what…" Another yawn. "What you doing? I'm sleepy."

The older man gently stroked his godson's hair while walking towards the bed. Was it his imagination or was Harry somehow smaller than he had been before? He could have sworn that Harry had been a bit taller earlier.

He brushed the thought aside as him just being paranoid that Bella had hurt Harry. The boy was fine, at least from what he could tell. Mitzi had tended to the bruises nicely, as they were hardly there at all. A good thing, since Regulus probably would have snapped again otherwise.

He placed Harry on the bed first, tucking him in securely and pressing a kiss to the boy's forehead. He soon joined him, opening his arms for Harry to cuddle into. His godson happily accepted his invitation, scooting sideways and into his embrace. Harry craved attention and affection like a drug addict craved his next fix. Damn Dumbledore for leaving the boy with those damn muggles for so many years. Although as Harry curled the fingers of his small hand into Regulus' shirt, the man couldn't really complain.

"Good night, Harry." He whispered.

Still mostly asleep and his brain not fully functioning, his mind already having given into the alluring call of rest, Harry made a huge mistake. As soon as the name left his lips, he felt Regulus stiffened and the arms, which seconds ago had been so comforting, tightened till they were painful.

Daring to look up, he met Regulus' furious gaze and began to shake. Oh merlin, he had really messed up this time. He tried to struggle, but the strong grip did not yield. Those scary gray eyes bore into his own, making Harry shrink into himself. "What did you just call me?" Regulus hissed, his fingers moving to Harry's neck.

Harry was beyond terrified. Regulus' thumb was just rubbing his neck now, but he knew that at any moment those fingers could tighten and choke him. Regulus sat up, taking Harry with him.

Tears fell from his eyes as those fingers tightened just a fraction and the other hand curled into a fist. "I'm sorry, Reggie." He sobbed, hoping beyond hope that the man would take pity on him and let them go back to sleep. "I didn't mean to…"

Regulus' eyes flashed dangerously, adding more pressure. "Have you forgotten your situation, Harry?" said Regulus with a calmness that frightened Harry more than yelling could. "Do you think that just because I haven't been punishing you, that you can do and say whatever you want? You are with me, Harry, not him. You will never be with him again. The sooner you forget about Sirius the better. You are _never _leaving. How many times do I have to hurt you until you finally understand?"

The barely restrained anger lying just behind those grey eyes scared Harry more than any dream from Voldemort could. More tears slipped silently down his cheeks. Fingers still around the boy's neck, Regulus moved his other hand to wipe those tears away. "Do you know how hard I've worked to make all this possible? How much time I've spent? You were being such a good boy, Harry. Perhaps having Noah here is setting a bad example. Must I dispose of him...?"

"No!" Harry nearly yelled, quickly lowering his voice when he remembered that Noah was still asleep. "No, don't hurt him. He didn't do anything."

"I don't know, Harry." Regulus leaned forward till his face was inches from Harry's. "Are you going to be a good boy if I leave him alone?"

Harry nodded his head hurriedly, sniffling and shaking. "I promise, Reggie. Please…just don't…"

"Harry…?"

Both turned their heads to see a shape moving in the darkness. Harry's heart nearly stopped. _Go back to sleep, _he begged in his mind. _If you see this he'll kill you. _Regulus' grip had grown tighter. It was becoming much harder to draw in air. _Don't look over here, please._

"Where'd ya go, 'arry?" Noah grumbled in a tired voice, the shadow of his hand looking from side to side.

"I…I fine, Noah." Harry forced out, praying that Noah couldn't hear the rasp in his voice. "I just had a scary dream and I wanna sleep next to Reggie tonight."

He held his breath as he heard Noah shuffle around some more. "Okay…Night, Harry."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Harry returned the words and turned towards Regulus, begging the man with his eyes to let go of him and forget all of this. Instead the man leant forward, putting his lips right next to Harry's ear and whispering. "If there is another incident like this, Harry, I won't hesitate to punish you. It would be best for you to learn your place, because next time I will not be so forgiving."

Then it was like nothing had happened. Regulus released his neck and pulled him back into his arms, lying down. His fingers ran calmly through Harry's hair, the madness gone from his gaze, leaving behind nothing but a subdued sort of happiness.

Harry finally let himself relax, realizing that the real Regulus had returned. He let Regulus stroke his hair, relishing in the calming motion. He looked up into Regulus' eyes once again, the question he had been dying to ask for a while now resting just on the tip of his tongue.

"Yes, Harry?"

Harry swallowed before proceeding cautiously, knowing that just one word could set the man off again. "Did you kill her, Reggie?"

The man smiled, looking at Harry fondly. "Of course not. We just talked. Now sleep."

Closing his eyes, Harry cuddled into Regulus' side and pretended, just in his mind, that it was not Regulus Black holding him, but Sirius, his godfather. That comforting thought was enough to lull him back to sleep and to a place where he was safe, with Sirius and Noah beside him, loving and protecting him.

_He's still so stubborn. _Regulus watched the gentle rise and fall of his godson's chest as he slept. His eyes soon found their way to the pale neck, were there were now fresh bruises, these in the shape of his fingers. He had lost it once again. He had blacked out and when he returned, he had been choking Harry.

_You need help, Regulus. _Reasonable voice had returned, pushing to the forefront of his mind. _You cannot deal with Harry all on your own. On your own, you will never get Harry to like you._

For once, he agreed with the voice. He did need someone else to help him. Someone who be able to help him when he had one of his blackouts and protect Harry in case he couldn't. Someone he could trust completely.

A person who was good with children.

His cousin, Narcissa Malfoy.

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